V 


rtrf^n^ 


'eils 


^^/ 


COLLEGE    LIFE 


ITS  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE. 


BT 


REV.  STEPHEN  OLIN,  D.D.,  LL.D., 


LATE    PRESIDENT    OF   THE   WESLEYAN    UNIVERSITY. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 
1867. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sLxty-seven,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


The  Baccalaureate  Discourses  in  this  volume  were 
addressed  by  Dr.  Olin  to  the  young  men  under  his  charge 
during  the  last  years,  the  Lectures  during  the  last  months, 
of  his  life.  The  writing  of  the  Lectures  was  his  closing 
li'terary  labor,  their  delivery  his  final  public  utterance.  A 
precious  legacy  to  students,  in  whose  welfare  he  was  most 
deeply  interested,  their  earnest  words  have  in  many  in- 
stances given  permanent  impressions  to  character,  decided 
direction  to  conduct.  They  embody  his  mature  and  com- 
prehensive views  in  relation  to  mental  and  moral  culture, 
developed  in  the  experience  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  spent  in  college  halls  ;  and  their  suggestions  and 
counsels  deserve  the  careful  consideration  of  the  under- 
graduates of  the  colleges  of  our  land. 

As  there  has  been  a  special  demand  for  the  volume  of 
Dr.  Olin's  Works  containing  these  lessons  to  young  men 
— lessons  from  their  point  and  power  entitled  to  take  a 
permanent  plac^tin  college  literature — it  has  been  thought 
desirable  to  issue  them  in  a  form  adapted  to  the  library 
of  a  student. 


CONTENTS. 

QL{)c  Sljcorn  anb  |3racticc  of  Gcljolastk  £ife. 

(in  seven  lectures.) 
LECTURE  I. 

IMPORTANCE    OF    UNDERSTANDING    THE    TRUE    THEORY   OF    SCHOLASTIC 
LIFE. 

Introductory  Remarks. — All  serious  Pursuits  have  a  recognized  The- 
ory.— Educated  Intellect  encroaches  upon  the  Sphere  of  mere  physi- 
cal Energy. — Illustration. — Education  a  Science  as  vi'ell  as  an  Art. 
— An  Acquaintance  with  the  Theory  essential  to  the  Success  of 
the  Teacher. — Still  more  so  to  the  Student. — Involuntary  Inmates 
of  a  College. — Mental  Aliment  without  mental  Appetite. — Its  Re- 
sults.— Revolt  from  an  odious  Bondage. — Few  youthful  Defects 
irretrievable. — Curative  Discipline  of  a  wise  mental  Regimen. — 
Manly  Resolutions  and  Efforts. — The  Law  of  Habit. — Its  Efficacy. 
— It  diminishes  the  Friction  of  Life,  and  is  highly  beneficent,  but 
despotic. — The  Boy  is  Law-giver  to  the  Man;  hence  the  supreme 
Importance  of  attending  to  the  Formation  of  Habits. — No  Antidote 
for  Offenses  against  our  intellectual  Nature. — The  Season  for  sow- 
ing no  less  important  than  the  Soil. — Temptations  of  the  young 
Student  to  embrace  fallacious  Theories  of  academic  Life Pago  9 

LECTURE  II. 

MOTIVES    TO    THE    PROSECUTION    01''    LIBERAL    STUDIES. 

Nature  and  proper  Function  of  Motives. — Treatment  of  first  Princi- 
ples necessarily  Metaphysical. — Arguments  from  no  other  Source 
so  luminous  and  satisfactory. — False  Theories  adopted  by  some 
Students  relative  to  their  own  Capabilities. — Causes  of  their  adop- 
tion :  Indolence ;  imperfect  mastery  of  elementary  Principles.  — 
The  Remedy. — Various  types  of  Mind. — Diflerence  between  Mo- 
lives  which  do  and  which  ought  to  control. — The  power  of  Motive 
not  arbitrary. — Men  have  power  to  control  the  Motives  that  control 
them. — Selection  of  the  Motive  Forces. — They  should  be  pure,  per- 


CONTENTS. 


manent,  elevating. — Difference  between  voluntary  and  involuntary 
Motives  ;  unworthy  and  inadequate  Motives  ;  a  desire  to  escape 
more  laborious  Occupations;  dread  of  Disgrace  ;  the  gratification 
of  parental  Pride  ;  Emulation  ;  Ambition  :  the  two  last,  however, 
not  to  be  discarded  as  purely  mischievous. — Ambition  distinguish- 
able from  Emulation,  but  liable  to  the  same  Objection. — Character- 
istics of  an  ambitious  College-Student Page  23 

LECTURE  III. 

PROPER    INCENTIVES    TO    HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS. 

Difficulties  in  the  Student's  Career  not  greater  than  they  should  be.— 
A  Mind  not  Insane  or  Imbecile  is  competent  to  overcome  them. — 
Analogy  between  tlie  Cultivation  of  the  Mental  and  the  Moral  Povi'- 
ers. — The  Dictates  of  Conscience. — Proper  Incentives  to  a  thor- 
ough Education  must  fulfill  two  indispensable  Conditions  :  Conge- 
niality to  the  Mind  and  Permanency  in  their  Influence. — A  Desire 
to  develop  and  cultivate  the  Intellect. — The  Connection  of  the  Mo- 
tive with  the  End  of  Intellectual  Pursuits. — On  this  Principle,  the 
attempt  to  learn  is  of  itself  Success,  and  every  Obstacle  overcome 
is  a  Triumph. — The  Student  is  preparing  not  only  for  Temporal 
Enjoyments,  but  for  the  Cycles  of  Eternal  Being. — The  Mental  no 
less  than  tiie  Moral  Character  receives  ineffaceable  Impressions  in 
the  present  Life. — Curiosity  as  a  Motive. — Its  Function  analogous 
to  that  of  the  Appetite. — Its  Suggestions  always  to  be  heeded. — 
Difference  in  this  Respect  between  a  Wise  Man  and  a  Fool. — Cu- 
riosity as  tending  to  produce  an  earnest  love  of  Truth  for  its  own 
Sake. — Mental  Habitudes  of  Newton  and  of  Washington. — Admon- 
itory Caution 36 

LECTURE  IV. 

DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES. 

Retrospect  of  the  preceding  Suggestions. — Claims  of  Patriotism  and 
of  Religion. — What  is  Education  1 — Analogies  from  physical  Train- 
ing, Labor,  Rest,  Recreation,  Diet,  Dress,  general  Symmetry. — 
Distortion  and  Malformation. — Some  Faculties  of  the  Mind  invigo- 
rated at  the  expense  of  others. — Illustrations. — Course  of  Study 
should  he  comprehensive,  well  selected,  and  .well  proportioned. — 
It  is  the  mental  Effort,  and  not  the  Knowledge  attained,  that  dis- 
ciplines the  Mind. — Illustrations. — Shallow  but  common  Argument 
against  the  pursuit  of  literary  Studies. — Grievous  Mistakes  into 
wiiich  Students  fall  from  not  appreciating  the  true  Idea  of  Educa- 


CONTENTS. 


tion. — The  Mischief  enlianced  by  the  example  of  showy  Accomplish- 
ments.— Tiie  Course  of  Studies  pursued  in  American  Colleges. — 
The  Result  of  protracted  Experiments  in  Education,  and  the  best 
System  ever  devised  for  the  Development  and  Discipline  of  the 
Mind Page  50 

LECTURE  V. 

THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF    MENTAL    DISCIPLINE. 

Early  intellectual  Habits. — Power  to  modify  and  change  them. — The 
Memory. — Concentration  of  Thought. — Improvement  of  the  reason- 
ing Faculties. — The  Study  of  general  Principles. — Illustrations  from 
Chemistry  and  Geology. — The  Mathematics. — The  Languages  of 
Antiquity. — New  Sources  of  Satisfaction  thence  arising  to  the  dili- 
gent Student. — The  attainment  of  a  pure  and  elegant  Style. — A 
Suggestion  from  personal  Experience. — Efficacy  of  Method  and  or- 
derly Arrangement. — Objections  answered. — Laws  of  Association. 
— Superficial  Methods  of  Study. — Thoroughness  of  Investigation 
the  only  Method  of  making  future  Studies  easy  and  pleasant. — Fa- 
cility of  Acquisition  not  always  a  test  of  intellectual  Capacity. — 
What  are  called  hard  Studies  rather  to  be  preferred. — From  them 
the  Mind  derives  Strength. — Discipline  rather  than  brilliant  Tal- 
ents produces  great  Men 64 

LECTURE  VI. 

OFFENSES    AGAINST    PEOPRIETy    AND    GOOD    TASTE. 

A  difficult  Problem. — Essentials  to  the  efficiency  and  completeness  of 
Mental  Discipline. — Attention  to  minor  Matters. — Vices  of  Manner, 
when  habitual,  difficult  to  eradicate. — Vicious  Pronunciation  of 
common  English  Words. — The  Remedy  to  be  applied  in  Youth,  if 
ever. — The  correction  of  Faults  does  not  require  Talent  and  Ge- 
nius, but  Humility  and  Resolution. — Awkwardness  of  Attitude  and 
Gesture. — Slang  Phrases. — Corrupt  Language  leads  to  corruption 
of  Taste.— JGrossness  cultivated  by  the  Student  clings  to  the  Man 
in  after  Life. — Self-reforming  Power  the  distinguishing  Privilege 
of  the  Young. — Labor,  Self-denial,  Patience,  Perseverance  requi- 
site.— Analogy  from  the  business  of  the  Gardener. — Attention  fixed 
on  Things  to  be  avoided  rather  than  on  Things  to  be  acquired. — 
The  removal  of  a  Fault  more  important  than  the  acquisition  of  an 
Accomplishment. — Simplicity  of  Action. — Unambitious  Style. — Pu- 
rity of  Language. — Use  of  strong  Epithets. — Illustrations. — Effects. 
— False  llhetoric  .eads  to  false  Lofjic 78 


VI  CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  Vir. 

THE    FORMATION    OF    CHARACTER    IN    COLLEGE. 

Nature  and  power  of  Habit. — Character  widely  different  from  Repu- 
tation.— It  is  made  up  of  a  Man's  real  Qualities  and  Accomplish- 
ments.— Latent  Agencies  incessantly  at  work. — Peculiar  Impressi- 
bility of  the  youthful  Mind. — Far  more  so  than  that  of  Childhood  or 
mature  Manhood. — Germs  of  Good  and  Evil  rapidly  developed  at 
College. — Practical  importance  of  the  prudential  Regulations  of 
Academic  Life. — System  and  Regularity. — Punctuality. — Order. — 
A  Defense  against  the  Encroachments  of  Indolence. — Character 
modified  by  Associations. — Laws  of  Academic  Institutions. — They 
are  its  Ideal,  its  Model.— IVhy  they  do  not  always  produce  the  de- 
sired Result. — Young  Men  are  Free  Agents Page  94 


BaccaliTurcatc   HDisconrscs. 
I. 

INDISPENSABLE    REQUISITES    FOK    SUCCESS    IN    LIFE. 

A  Discourse  to  the  Graduating  Class  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
1844 103 

II. 

RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN. 

A  Discourse  to  the'Graduating  Class  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
1845 12.'j 

in. 

THE    RELATIONS    OF    CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE   TO    MENTAL    CULTURE. 

A  Discourse  to  the  Graduating  Class  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
1 848 ^ 163 

IV. 

EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF    ELEVATED    CHARACTER. 

A  Discourse  to  the  Graduating  Class  of  the  Wesleyan  University. 
1849    201 


LECTURES,    & 


QL\)c  iEljcorji  a\\b  Practice  of  Scljolastic  £ife. 
lecture' I. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  THE  TRUE  THEORY  OF 
SCHOLASTIC  LIFE. 

Introductory  Remarks. — All  serious  Pursuits  have  a  recognized  The- 
ory.—  Educated  Intellect  encroaches  upon  the  Sphere  of  mere  physi- 
cal Energy. — Illustration. — Education  a  Science  as  well  as  an  Art. — 
An  Acquaintance  with  the  Theory  essential  to  the  Success  of  the 
Teacher —  Still  more  so  to  the  Student. —  Involuntary  Inmates  of  a 
College. — Mental  Aliment  without  mental  Appetite. — Its  Results. — 
Revolt  from  an  odious  Bondage. — Few  youthful  Defects  irretrieva- 
ble.— Curative  Discipline  of  a  wise  mental  Regimen. — Manly  Reso- 
lutions and  Efforts. — The  Law  of  Habit. — Its  EfBcacy. — It  diminish- 
es the  Friction  of  Life,  and  is  highly  beneficent,  but  despotic. —  The 
•Boy  is  Law-giver  to  the  Man;  hence  the  supreme  Importance  of  at- 
tending to  the  Formation  of  Habits. — No  Antidote  for  Offenses  against 
our  intellectual  Nature. —  The  Season  for  sowing  no  less  important 
than  the  Soil. —  Temptations  of  the  young  Student  to  embrace  falla- 
cious Theories  of  academic  Life. 

I  HAVE  long  desired  to  read  a  brief  course  of  Lectures  be- 
fore the  students  of  the  University  on  the  theory  and  2'>^'(^ctice 
of  the  Scholastic  Life.  Hitherto  I  have  been  prevented  from 
entering  on  the  execution  of  this  design  by  the  same  cause 
which  has  thwarted  so  many  of  my  plans  for  professional 
usefulness.  That  I  am  hereafter  to  be  exempt  from  these 
interruptions,  I  know  not  that  I  have  reasonable  ground  of 
expectation,  and  the  brief  discourse  to  which  you  are  about 
to  listen  does  not  pledge  or  purpose  any  extended  discussion 

A  2 


10    IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  THE 

of  the  subject  which  has  been  suggested.  This  essay  is  not 
offered  as  an  introduction  to  such  a  discussion,  nor  as  ex- 
pressive of  a  hope  that  I  may  be  able  to  follow  it  up  with 
such  a  course  of  instruction  as  seems  to  me  very  desirable 
Should  circumstances  permit,  however,  I  shall  gladly  prose- 
cute the  design  suggested,  in  a  few  lectures,  delivered  occa- 
sionally, and  at  such  intervals  and  at  such  times  as  may  be 
most  convenient.  Such  a  plan,  or,  to  speak  more  properly, 
this  entire  absence  of  a  plan,  will  exclude  the  possibility  of 
symmetry  and  fullness  ;  but  the  most  brief,  desultory  treat 
ment  of  such  a  subject  may  not  be  unfruitful  of  suggestive 
hints,  which  the  thoughtful  student  will  be  able  to  pursue 
and  elaborate  for  himself  Any  exposition  of  the  principles 
and  maxims  concerned  in  his  daily  occupations  may  be  ex- 
pected to  exert  an  influence  valuable  in  proportion  to  the 
philosophical  insight  and  practical  wisdom  with  which  it 
may  be  characterized. 

Every  serious  pursuit  in  which  the  various  powers  and 
faculties  of  men  find  employment  has  a  theory  —  a  code  of 
fundamental  principles,  or,  at  least,  of  recognized  rules  of  pro- 
cedure, in  accordance  with  Avhich  its  labors  are  supposed  to 
be  conducted.  This  is  true  of  the  various  branches  of  hairdi- 
craft  and  of  mechanic  arts,  no  less  than  of  those  higher  de- 
partments of  study  and  activity  which  give  employment  to 
the  most  distinguished  professional  attainments  and  the  pro- 
foundest  scientific  knowledge.  As  society  advances  in  civil- 
ization and  refinement,  the  simple  operations  of  the  work-shop 
and  the  field  grow  into  arts  and  sciences.  The  rude  appli- 
ances of  the  peasant-mechanic  give  place  to  the  elaborate 
machinery  and  dynamic  combinations  of  an  industrial  estab- 
lishment. Every  step  in  this  career  of  improvement  implies 
and  necessitates  a  corresponding  progress  in  the  artisan  and 
the  operative.  Formerly  it  was  enough  that  he  possessed 
vigor  and  dexterity.  Precision  of  the  eye  was  his  guiding 
mtelligence,  and  the  right  hand's  strength  and  cunning  were 


TRUE     THEORY    OP     SCHOLASTIC     LIFE.  11 

instead  of  mechanical  forces  and  adjustments.  Skillful  man- 
ipulation was  then  all-sufficient  for  his  purpose  ;  but  he  must 
now  draw  upon  his  mental  resources,  and  rise  up  to  the  com- 
prehension of  a  principle  at  the  peril  of  being  thrown  out  of 
employment,  or  of  being  fixed  in  the  position  of  an  unthink- 
ing co-operative,  with  the  wheels  and  hammers  that  whirl 
and  clack  around  him.  It  is  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  our 
being  that  intellect  and  education  incessantly  encroach  upon 
the  sphere  of  unintelligent  physical  energy,  and  gradually 
extend  their  dominion  over  the  entire  field  of  human  occupa- 
tions. Of  the  strength  and  universality  of  this  tendency,  a 
striking  illustration  is  furnished  by  the  present  condition  of 
the  laboring  classes  in  this  country.  These  classes  are  com- 
posed partly  of  native-born  citizens,  who  have  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  a  good  common  education,  and  partly  of  foreign 
immigrants,  who  liave  never  learned  to  read,  or,  what  is  about 
its  equivalent,  having  learned  to  read,  have  been  prevented 
by  their  rulers,  their  religious  teachers,  or  their  poverty,  from 
reading  books  calculated  to  awaken  thought  and  invigorate 
the  intellect.  As  a  result  of  this  difi'erence  in  mental  condi- 
tion, those  who  have  been  trained  to  think,  do,  as  a  general 
rule,  engross  all  the  occupations  in  which  thought  and  intel- 
ligence are  favorable  to  success,  while  the  more  rude  exotic 
masses  ar^  doomed  to  perform  the  drudgery  and  to  fill  the 
servile  offices  of  a  great  nation. 

The  uneducated  Irishman  excavates  canals  and  rail-roads. 
He  is  a  porter,  a  hod-carrier,  a  quarry-man,  a  stable-boy,  but 
seldom  an  artisan,  an  architect,  an  engineer,  or  a  master- 
builder.  He  can  wield  a  spade  or  perforate  a  rock  by  the 
monotonous  stroke  of  the  drill,  but  he  is  generally  found 
poorly  quahfied  for  the  more  complex  operations  of  agricul- 
ture ;  and  his  daughters  seldom  make  good  operatives  in  a 
manufactory.  It  is  instructive  to  observe  with  what  uner- 
ring instincts  these  untaught  sons  of  toil  and  misfortune,  upon 
their  first  arrival  upon  our  shores,  subside  into  their  natural 


12     IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  THE 

f 

place  beneath  the  lowest  stratum  of  our  American  society, 
and,  lifting  up  the  superincumbent  mass  upon  their  brawny 
shoulders,  seize  upon  all  the  humbler  occupations  as  the  en- 
dowment held  in  trust  for  them  by  this  great,  free  country. 
It  is  not  national  prejudice  or  national  jealousy  that  imposes 
this  inevitable  burden  upon  the  adopted  citizen.  It  is  not  his 
natural  inferiority  in  mental  or  physical  endowments.  We 
freely  admit  the  refugees  of  all  nations  to  share  all  the  privi- 
leges and  facilities  of  our  fruitful  domain,  and  the  educated 
Irishman  and  the  educated  German  are  wont  to  prosper,  even 
beyond  the  men  of  other  races,  in  the  various  departments  of 
business  and  enterprise.  The  comparative  ignorance  of  the 
immigrant  must  be  held  responsible  for  all  the  unfavorable 
results  of  his  unequal  competition  Avith  the  native  American. 
The  American  is  intelligent.  He  brings  an  awakened  intel- 
lect to  the  pursuits  of  life.  He  grasps  the  theory — he  com- 
prehends the  principles  of  his  occupation,  and  to  that  extent, 
at  least,  he  is  a  philosopher  whose  hands  are  guided  by  his 
understanding.  The  blunter  and  the  darker  intellect  plies 
his  tools  diligently  enough,  but  never  stirs  his  ideas.  He  is 
the  very  slave  of  routine,  but  is  incapable  of  understanding 
or  following  out  a  theory.  He  is  a  prodigy  of  dexterity, 
which  comes  from  a  patient  repetition  of  one  or  a  series  of 
corporeal  movements,  but  is  hopelessly  deficient  in  skill, 
which  supposes  some  comprehension  of  the  science  needful 
to  the  perfection  of  his  art. 

To  apply  this  palpable  but  highly  instructive  illustration 
to  the  subject  in  hand,  the  scholastic  life  involves  theory  as 
well  as  'practice.  Education  is  a  science  as  well  as  an  art. 
Educational  institutions  are  organized  and  conducted  on  well- 
established  philosophical  principles,  no  less  than  in  accord- 
ance with  the  lessons  of  experience  and  the  exigencies  of 
the  current  time.  The  pursuits  of  the  student  rest  upon 
grounds,  and  are  sustamed  by  reasons  that  lie  back  of  all 
schools  and  colleges,  and  possess  an  authority  quite  independ- 


TRUE     THEORY     OF     SCHOLASTIC     LITE.  13 

eat  of  positive  rules  and  institutions.  It  is  admitted,  on  all 
hands,  that  the  teacher  who  has  not  mastered  these  ilmda- 
mental  principles,  and  who  does  not  feel  their  power,  and  in- 
fuse their  spirit  into  the  performance  of  his  duties,  is  emi- 
nently disqualified  for  his  vocation.  He  degrades  a  liberal, 
intellectual  function  into  irksome  drudgery,  which,  when  it 
no  longer  ministers  in  the  presence  of  a  guiding  philosophy, 
no  longer  possesses  power  to  move  the  springs  of  mental  ac- 
tivity, or  authority  to  direct  the  inquiries  of  awakened  curi- 
osity. Witl^a  good  reason,  then,  is  it  demanded  of  every  in- 
structor of  youth  that  he  should  come  to  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  in  the  full  comprehension  of  the  principles  that  under- 
lie his  art ;  but  the  reason  is  good  and  sufficient  only  be- 
cause, to  the  fit  discharge  of  such  duties,  it  is  indispensable 
that  he  be  able  to  induct  his  pupils  into  a  mastery  of  the 
same  higher  philosophy. 

This  knowledge  of  first  principles  is  even  more  important 
to  the  student  who  aspires  to  an  education  truly  liberal  than 
to  the  teacher  himself,  who  often  acquires  the  elements  of 
science  and  language  very  perfectly  by  virtue  of  endless  rep- 
etitions, while  wholly  unconscious  of  their  subtile  powers  and 
manifold  relations  and  affinities.  By  force  of  inveterate 
habit,  he  can  walk  in  the  dark,  and  without  tripping,  the 
wonted  round  of  his  narrow  curriculum.  He  may  be  likened 
to  the  porter  of  a  princely  mansion,  who  never  advances  be- 
yond the  vestibule  of  the  palace,  though  forever  employed  in 
opening  the  door  which  admits  hundreds  into  beautiful  sa- 
loons blazing  with  light  and  magnificence. 

The  great  majority  of  those  who  enter  our  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning  do  not  study  science  and  literature  as  a  pro- 
fession, but  as  a  discipline — as  the  only  approved  method  of 
acquiring  high  mental  accomplishments,  and  as  the  richest 
source  of  refined,  elevating  pleasures.  For  the  attainment  of 
such  ends,  something  more  is  manifestly  demanded  than  an 
unsympathizing,  half-forced  compliance  with  the  routine  of 


14    IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  THE 

the  study  and  the  lecture-room.  The  most  exemplary  indus- 
try may  easily  forfeit  some  of  the  highest  rewards  of  mental 
efibrt  for  want  of  taking  into  its  theory  of  the  scholastic  life  a 
few  just,  guidijig  ideas,  and  the  most  honorable  ambition,  at 
the  close  of  the  most  successful  scholastic  career,  often  finds  it- 
self disappointed  and  chagrined  just  because,  through  its  fault 
or  its  misfortune,  it  chose  to  yield  the  direction  of  irretrieva- 
ble years  and  opportunities  to  the  control  of  ideas  and  motives 
which,  however  favorable  to  intensity  of  purpose  and  pursuit, 
are  not  found  compatible  with  the  freest  and  ^ost  healthy 
intellectual  growth,  and  with  the  fullest  breadth  and  depth 
of  intellectual  life. 

These  remarks  do,  as  I  will  allow  myself  to  believe,  suffi- 
ciently develop  the  general  object  and  intention  of  this  lec- 
ture. It  seeks  to  demonstrate,  and  to  impress  on  those  who 
hear  me,  the  pressing  elementary  importance  of  comprehend- 
ing the  theory  of  the  scholastic  life,  and  of  prosecuting  their 
studies  under  the  guiding,  sustaining  impulses  of  an  intelli- 
gent ever-conscious  homage  to  the  reasons  that  should  inspire 
and  control  their  pursuits. 

The  aims  of  this  discussion  suppose  in  the  student  an  in- 
genuous desire  to  make  the  most  of  his  academic  opportuni- 
ties— a  willingness  to  endure  the  labor  of  mental  efibrt — a 
manly  purpose  to  bestow  upon  the  capacities  with  which  Na- 
ture has  endowed  him,  a  diligent  and  pains-taking  culture — 
a  laudable  ambition  to  attain  to  whatever  mental  excellence 
may  be  conceded  to  a  thoughtful,  earnest  use  of  his  time  and 
opportunities.  It  must  be  obvious  to  all  that  a  system  of  ed- 
flcation  conceived  and  carried  out  in  a  just,  philosophical 
spirit,  can  adapt  itself  to  those  only  who  really  desire  to  be 
educated,  and  who  are  prepared  to  co-operate  heartily  in  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object.  The  teacher  will  no  doubt 
have  to  provide  for  a  number  of  anomalous  cases  in  which 
the  voluntary  concurrence  will  be  too  feeble  for  easy  recogni- 
tion, but  with  these  he  must  deal  as  exceptions  to  all  natural 


TRUE     THEORY     OF     SCHOLASTIC     LIFE.  15 

and  reasonable  laws,  and  by  such  expedients  as  observation, 
experience,  or  even  despair  may  suggest. 

I  am  also  aware  that  there  is  usually  to  be  found  in  places 
of  public  education  a  class  of  young  students  who  are  en- 
gaged in  scholastic  pursuits  in  deference  to  wishes  and  ar- 
rangements in  which  their  own  preferences  have  not  been 
consulted,  and  from  which,  if  their  tastes  had  been  gratified, 
they  would  perhaps  have  chosen  to  refrain.  We  are  accus- 
tomed, however,  to  find  in  this  class  a  number  of  examples 
of  fine,  growing  scholarship,  and  it  is  often  a  peculiar  advant- 
age enjoyed  by  persons  so  young  that  they  have  not  ac([uired 
that  relish  for  the  excitements,  the  gains,  or  the  freedom  of 
active  life  which  diverts  so  many  who  come  later  to  engage 
in  scholastic  pursuits,  from  their  chosen  career.  If  young 
men  in  this  particular  stage  and  condition  of  intellectual  de- 
velopment will,  as  in  duty  and  all  consistency  bound,  hold 
themselves  pledged  to  carry  out  the  cherished  design  of  the 
parent,  under  the  favorable  auspices  of  the  large  and  manly 
philosophy  which  is  here  commended  to  their  approbation,  I 
know  not  who  may  cultivate  the  field  now  open  before  them 
with  fairer  hopes  of  reaping  a  plentiful  harvest. 

Scholastic  pursuits  prosecuted  in  the  absence  of  these  ge- 
nial, attractive  influences,  must  always  lack  the  vitality  of 
a  conscious,  joyous  spontaneity,  and  incur  the  hazard  of  bring- 
ing upon  the  mind  an  irritating  sense  of  being  in  bondage  to 
arbitrary  rules,  which,  having  no  felt  affinities  for  the  intel- 
lectual constitution,  naturally  become  repulsive,  and  provoke 
opposition  rather  than  incite  to  a  cheerful,  productive  indus- 
try. Mental  aliment  taken  thus,  without  any  call  from  the 
mental  appetite,  is  likely  to  be  digested  imperfectly  or  not  at 
all,  and  consequently  to  minister  little  to  constitutional  beau- 
ty, vigor,  or  elasticity.  It  is  bolted  under  a  painful  sense 
of  necessity  or  duty,  in  a  paroxysm  of  resolution  or  despair, 
like  nauseous  drugs,  or  like  the  unpalatable  diet  prescribed 
to  dyspeptics  by  Dr  Alcott  or  Mr.  Graham,  rather  than  re- 


16    IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  THE 

ceived  with  gusto  and  gladness  like  the  delicious  morsels  of 
the  confectioner  or  the  ripe  fruits  of  early  autumn,  which 
every  organ  concerned  seizes  with  avidity  and  caresses  lov- 
ingly, prolonging  the  satisfaction  as  far  as  pleasure  so  fleet- 
ing can  be  induced  to  remain.  It  is  an  inevitable  result  that 
intellectual  objects  thus  prosecuted  under  external  pressure, 
without  inward  excitement  or  vocation,  will  become  not  only 
insipid,  but  distasteful  ;  and  whenever  the  disgust  shall  grow 
to  be  stronger  than  reverence  for  parental  authority,  and  that 
sentiment  of  self-respect  and  shame  which  is  commonly  able 
for  a  time  to  exert  a  restraining  iirfluence,  may  we  expect 
to  see  the  swelling  impatience  blaze  up  into  a  revolt,  and 
emancipate  itself  from  an  odious  bondage  to  study  with  that 
muigled  feeling  of  triumph  and  resentment  which  a  "  fugi- 
tive from  labor"  may  be  supposed  to  have  when  he  finds 
himself  on  the  safe  side  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  It  seems 
to  me  that  study  carried  on  in  such  a  spirit  as  I  have  sup- 
posed, even  though  it  should  continue  to  be  prosecuted  with 
considerable  diligence,  must  obviously  and  inevitably  fail  to 
produce  any  considerable  results.  The  mind,  doomed  to  work 
under  a  species  of  constraint  at  problems  and  for  reasons 
which  it  will  not  be  at  the  pains  of  fully  comprehending, 
usually  becomes  unelastic,  sullen,  and  skeptical,  and  no  longer 
discerns  or  relishes  the  truths  evolved  by  the  processes  with 
which  it  is  employed.  Imagination,  finding  no  genial  at- 
mosphere, and  "  out  of  its  element,"  puts  ofi;"its  wings,  and  be- 
comes somnolent  and  sluggish,  while  the  powers  of  invention 
remain  unproductive  and  dormant,  as  if  chilled  with  perpet- 
ual winter. 

I  have  described  the  actual  condition  of  a  number  of  young 
men  by  no  means  deficient  in  good  mental  powers,  and  even 
well  endowed  by  nature  with  all  the  aptitudes  requisite  for 
high  achievements  in  scholarship.  In  the  strength  of  my 
faith  that  hardly  any  intellectual  or  moral  default  in  young 
men  is  irretrievable,  I  express  my  conviction  that  there  is  no 


TRUE    THEORY    OF    SCHOLASTIC     LIFE.  17 

ground  for  despair,  or  even  for  serious  discouragement  in  these 
cases,  provided  only  we  can  persuade  the  subjects  of  our  so- 
licitude to  rise  up  manfully  against  the  scandalous  dictation 
of  routine  and  accident  under  which  they  have  hitherto  pros- 
ecuted their  scholastic  labors,  and  resolutely  subject  their 
mental  ailments  to  the  curative  discipline  of  a  Avise  ment;il 
regimen. 

It  is  quite  within  the  competence  of  sober  thought,  fol- 
lowed up  by  manly  resolves  and  efforts,  to  put  the  springs 
of  intellectual  life  a-going  once  more  vmder  a  tide  of  vital  in- 
fluences powerful  and  permanent.  Let  the  victim  of  unre- 
flecting apathy  or  irresolution  awaken  to  self-control,  and 
earnestly  contemplate  intellectual  pursuits  in  their  manifold 
relations  and  connections  with  humanity,  and  with  the  social 
and  moral  obligations  and  the  destinies  of  human  life,  and 
he  will  soon  be  made  conscious  of  new,  noble  impulses  well- 
ing up  from  the  depths  of  a  free,  aspiring  soul,  that  shall 
henceforward  rejoice  in  its  newly-discovered  resources,  and 
assert  a  spontaneous,  irrepressible  claim  to  the  high  dignity 
of  the  fullest  mental  development,  and  of  the  most  sedulous 
mental  culture.  No  longer  in  bondage  to  unintelligent,  ar- 
bitrary routine,  and  freed  from  the  humiliating  discipline  in- 
flicted by  self-reproach  and  mortified  pride,  the  mind  iTiay  be 
expected  to  rebound,  buoyant  with  long-suspended  sponta- 
neity, conscious  anew  of  appetencies  for  ingenuous  pursuits, 
and  of  a  liberal  curiosity  eager  to  be  satisfied  with  those 
truths  which  constitute  the  sum  of  human  knowledge,  and 
which  progress  in  its  every  step  is  ready  to  reveal. 

Before  concluding  this  preliminary  Lecture,  allow  me  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  deeply  interesting  relations  of  the 
subject  under  consideration  to  the  laio  of  habit.  Habit,  I 
need  not  inform  you,  is  the  proclivity  and  aptitude  for  any 
action  or  method  to  which  we  become  accustomed.  It  is  the 
result  of  a  frequent  repetition,  in  the  same  direction,  of  any 
movement  of  body  or  mind,  and  it  is  of  such  efficacy  that  an 


13    IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING  %'HE 

action,  at  first  performed  with  difficulty,  by  the  utmost  exer- 
tion of  our  faculties,  comes  to  he  done  spontaneously,  and 
with  as  little  effort  or  consciousness  as  attends  respiration  or 
the  circulation  of  the  blood.  Children  have,  at  their  outset 
in  life,  no  habits.  The  utterance  of  a  single  word  or  syllable 
costs  them  much  effort,  and  supposes  a  multitude  of  pains- 
taking experiments  in  exercisin*  the  organs  of  speech,  and 
in  imitating  the  articulate  utterances  of  others.  A  mature 
man,  on  the  contrary,  lives,  and  moves,  and  has  his  being 
under  the  daily  and  hourly  dominion  of  habit.  He  is,  to  use 
one  of  the  pithy  aphorisms  in  which  our  vernacular  tongue 
so  much  delights  to  announce  comprehensive  truths,  "  a  bun- 
dle of  habits,"  "  a  creature  of  habit."  All  the  movements  of 
body  and  mind  become  habitual,  and,  with  the  progress  of 
years,  become  more  and  more  intensely  habitual,  till  what 
were  at  first  the  most  difficult  mental  efforts  and  the  most 
elaborate  achievements  of  art,  attain  to  the  facility  and  well- 
nigh  to  the  unconsciousness  of  mechanical  operations.  It  can 
not  be  doubted  that  this  tendency  of  our  nature  is  highly  be- 
neficent. It  greatly  diminishes  the  friction  of  life  by  gradual- 
ly dispensing  with  the  painful  outlay  of  attention  and  effort, 
which  are  indispensable  in  the  incipient  stages  and  endeavors 
of  all  progress  in  knowledge  and  art,  and  it  offers  the  most 
sustaining  encouragements  to  strenuous  exertions,  in  provid- 
ing that  good  aspirations  and  persevering  efforts  shall  grow 
into  virtues  and  permanent  forces  under  the  conservative 
power  of  a  great  constitutional  law.  We  are  to  remember, 
however,  that  habit,  though  often  a  beneficent  master,  is  al- 
ways despotic  when  once  it  has  established  its  sway.  We 
are  free  to  choose  what  habits  shall  reign  over  us,  but  not  to 
reject  a  dominion  eminently  legitimate  and  natural,  since  it 
has  grown  up  with  us  from  childhood,  and  been  deliberately 
invested  with  supreme  authority  by  the  consent  and  usage  of 
our  entire  history.  In  laying  the  foundations  of  this  powerful 
omnipresent  domination,  youth  enacts  statutes  for  age,  and 


t4Iue   theory   of   scholastic    life.         19 

the  boy  is  law-giver  to  the  man.  If  it  were  desirable,  it  is 
yet  impossible  to  reverse  this  order  of  events,  and  transfer 
from  the  inexperience  and  the  recklessness  of  mere  boyhood 
to  the  discretion  of  riper  years  a  trnst  so  precious  and  so 
deeply  interesting  to  the  individual  and  to  the  race  in  all 
their  stages  of  progress.  ISI^one,  however,  can  resist  or  evade 
this  fundamental  law  whiA  Nature  has  impressed  upon  the 
race,  and  I  am  wholly  unable  to  suggest  for  the  consideration 
of  young  men,  engaged  from  day  to  day  in  fashioning  a  life- 
long and  even  an  eternal  destiny,  a  more  powerful  or  a  more 
philosophical  motive  of  conduct  than  is  proposed  in  the  poten- 
cy and  the  permanence  of  this  irreversible  decree  of  heaven. 
What  inducements  have  they  to  scrutinize  their  position,  and 
fully  to  comprehend  its  Habilities,  as  well  as  the  great  ad- 
vantages which  this  law  of  habit  unquestionably  afibrds  for 
the  attainment  of  high  intellectual  and  moral  excellence  ? 
The  middle-aged  and  the  old  have  comparatively  little  in- 
terest in  such  an  investigation.  For  them  the  omnipotent 
past  has  already  fixed  its  impress  upon  the  current  and  all 
coming  time.  The  intellect  has  already  received  its  press- 
ure and  its  hue  from  opportunities,  well  or  ill  improved,  long 
since  gone,  but  still  working  potently  in  the  character  and  in 
the  destiny  which  it  was  their  mission  to  fashion  and  control. 
For  the  young,  the  present  is  all-powerful,  and  it  offers  its 
resources  and  plastic  sldll  to  establish  in  their  behalf,  over 
all  the  expanse  of  the  future,  the  dominion  of  intelligence 
and  virtue.  They  now  preside  over  the  solemn  council,  in 
obedience  to  which  intellect  and  character  are  to  be  mold- 
ed. They  are  incessantly  employed  in  weaving  the  web  of 
their  own  destiny,  and  every  throw  of  the  shuttle  draws  after 
it  a  thread,  which  may  become  a  clew  to  guide  them  through 
life's  labyrinths,  or  a  boding  symbol  of  the  dismal  catastrophe 
appointed  for  all  who  impiously  leave  to  blind  Chance  and 
envious  Fate  the  control  of  interests  which  Heaven  intrusts 
to  each  human  being  for  himself 


20  IMTORTANCE     OF     UNDERSTANDING     #11 E 

Do  we  ask  too  much  of  young  men  occupying  a  position 
of  such  marvelous  influence,  where  misdirected  efibrt  and  ig- 
noble sloth  alike  entail  upon  the  mental  and  moral  character 
ineflaceable  deformities  and  irretrievable  disabilities,  when  we 
beseech  them  to  ponder  well  the  paths  in  which  they  shall 
elect  to  walk  ;  to  examine  with  jealous  scrutiny  their  reasons 
for  pursuing  the  course  of  life  inAvhich  they  find  themselves 
engaged,  and  for  the  maxims  or  the  accidents  which  really 
guide  them  to  the  exclusion  of  a  juster,  sounder  philosophy  ? 
Noiv,  these  moving  forces  and  guiding  lights  may  be  modified 
and  rearranged  at  pleasure.  All  the  mind's  powers  and  fac- 
ulties are  now  subject  to  the  reason,  and  susceptible  of  new 
impressions — of  taking  new  directions  and  a  new  inspiration. 
They  are  already  beginning  to  part  with  this  power  of  self- 
transformation  and  control.  The  sphere  of  this  free  action 
is  gradually  contracting  by  the  growth  of  habit,  and  the 
mental  constitution  is  constantly  tendmg  to  a  state  of  fixed- 
ness and  pertinacious  resistance  to  all  ameliorating  changes. 

"VVe  do  not  borrow  these  lessons  of  admonition  and  warn- 
ing from  divine  revelation,  but  from  mental  laws  universally 
recognized,  and  from  experience  which  is  verified  in  the  his- 
tory of  every  individual  of  our  race.  Under  the  benignant 
religious  economy  which  ofl^ers  its  remedies  and  its  aids  to 
reformatory  efibrt§  in  every  stage'  of  life,  the  morals  and  de- 
linquencies of  youth,  however  great  or  pernicious,  are  not  ir- 
retrievable. For  early  oflenses  against  our  intellectual  na 
tare,  however,  heaven  has  provided  no  such  antidote,  noi 
has  human  sagacity  ever  been  able  to  discover  a  substitute 
for  those  mental  habits  and  aptitudes  which  a  thoughtful, 
painstaking  industry  will  secure  for  the  young,  but  which  are 
forfeited  absolutely  and  iorcver  by  the  indolence  that  will  not 
toil,  and  the  sottishness  that  will  not  think.  We  do  not 
transcend  the  sobriety  of  a  measured  and  cautious  phraseol 
ogy  in  aflirming  that  the  youthful  student  has  proficred  to 
him,  in  his  actual  opportunities,  once  for  all,  the  key  of  knowl 


TlfuE     THEORY    OF     SCHOLASTIC     LIFE.  21 

edge,  and  that  liis  position  ncccssiiaies  the  making  of  a  choice 
which  will  open  before  him  a  luminous  way  to  the  dignity 
and  consolations  of  the  true  philosophy,  and  to  the  yet  highci 
dignity  and  consolations  of  putting  forth  a  beneficent  influ- 
ence in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  humanity,  or  which  shall 
consign  him  to  a  very  diflerent  career,  where  the  faculties  will, 
indeed,  find  a  spontaneous  development  without  the  toil  of 
diligent  culture,  but  such  a  development  as  permanently  dis- 
qualifies the  human  being  for  the  purest,  highest  enjoyments 
and  occupations — as  degrades  the  higher  and  gives  suprem- 
acy to  the  lower  tastes  and  aspirations  of  the  soul,  and  eflect- 
ually  paralyzes  the  energies  intrusted  to  us  for  accomplishing 
the  good  work  which  God  has  placed  us  upon  this  earth  to 
perform. 

Whoever,  then,  has  been  smitten  with  a  laudable  ambi- 
tion to  sow  the  seeds  of  intelligence  in  the  human  mind,  to 
mold  its  divine  capabihties  into  graceful  forms  and  symmet- 
rical proportions,  to  nurture  its  crude  energies  and  give  them 
a  salutary  direction,  does  well  to  remember  that  the  season 
for  sowing  is  no  less  important  than  the  soil.  He  should  take 
his  position  at  the  threshold  of  academic  life,  and  make  haste 
to  pour  his  redeeming,  loving  counsels  into  the  willing  ear 
of  the  youthful  aspirant  for  literary  culture  before  it  is  pre- 
occupied by  other  less  competent  advisers— ^-while  the  feelings 
are  fresh  and  the  heart  buoyant. 

The  larger  portion  of  a  scholastic  community  are,  perhaps, 
likely  to  be  moved  by  impulses  of  sufficient  strength  to  over- 
come any  antagonism  which  the  youth  of  feebler  purpose  is 
too  often  called  to  encounter  on  less  advantageous  terms. 
Among  the  better  influences  which  mingle  with  a  literary 
atmosphere,  the  unsuspecting  neophyte  is  likely  to  come 
under  some  temptations  to  embrace  fallacious  theories  of  col- 
lege life,  which  have  descended  from  the  past  through  no 
very  trustworthy  channels,  along  with  other  doubtful  tradi- 
tions, and  which  usually  find  in  each  generation  of  students  a 


22    IMPORTANCE  OF  UNDERSTANDING,  ETC. 

few  zealous  cliampious  and  expounders.  This  very  inconsid- 
erable sect  is  distinguished  chiefly  by  a  most  vuiwarranta- 
ble  faith  in  the  efhcacy  of  external  circumstances.  It  trust- 
fully confides  mental  culture  and  illumination  to  the  genii 
of  academic  groves — a  set  of  plastic  agencies,  latent,  indeed, 
but  presumed  to  be  ever  active,  and  to  the  lights  reflected  by 
the  intellectual  constellation  upon  which,  whenever  his  eyes 
are  open,  the  student  is  compelled  to  gaze.  It  deprecates 
as  the  student's  chief  danger  the  damage  done  to  brilliant 
genius,  and  especially  to  the  imagination,  by  too  much  devo- 
tion to  study.  Against  the  injustice  of  contemporary  aca- 
demic opinion,  which  is  seldom  veiy  favorable  to  their  pre 
tensions,  these  poetical  persons  make  a  confident  appeal  to 
the  future — the  predestined  theatre  of  achievements  in  states- 
manship and  eloquence,  such  as  in  their  day  may,  with  some 
show  of  reason,  lay  claim  to  the  honor  of  inspiration,  since 
they  must  appear  to  be  the  result  of  an  educational  procesc 
utterly  incomprehensible  and  transcendental.  I  do  not  pro- 
pose an  encounter  with  the  doctrines  of  this  class  of  light- 
hearted  aspirants  for  literary  eminence,  but  it  seems  not  in- 
appropriate to  bestow  upon  them  this  passing  notice.  Even 
indolence  and  mental  eccentricity  acquire  a  measure  of  re- 
spectability by  professing  to  have  a  reason  for  their  follies, 
and  the  few  representatives  of  the  theory  adverted  to  still 
to  be  found,  I  fear,  in  all  literary  institutions,  contrive  to  make 
their  proselytes  and  so  to  keep  up  the  succession  by  present- 
ing their  crudities  to  unwary  and  inexperienced  youth  in  the 
dignified  and  pretentious  guise  of  a  logical  theory. 

I  propose  on  another  occasion  to  exhibit  some  of  the  philo- 
sophical reasons  why  the  student  should  aspire  to  the  attaio 
ment  of  thorouofh  liberal  edacation. 


MOTIVES     TO     THE     mOSECUTION,    ETC. 


LECTURE  II. 

MOTIVES  TO  THE  PIIOSECUTION  OF  LIBERAL  STUDIES. 

■  Nature  aud  proper  Function  of  Motives. — Treatment  of  first  Principles 
necessarily  Metaphysical. — Arguments  from  no  other  Source  so  lum- 
inous and  satisfactory. —  False  Theories  adopted  by  some  Students 
relative  to  their  own  Capabilities. — Causes  of  their  Adoption:  Indo 
leuce;  imperfect  mastery  of  elementary  Principles. — The  Remedy. — 
Various  types  of  Mind. — Difference  between  Motives  which  do  and 
which  ought  to  control. — The  power  of  Motive  not  arbitrary. — Men 
have  power  to  control  the  Motives  that  control  them. — Selection  of 
the  Motive  Forces. — They  should  be  pure,  permanent,  elevating. — 
Difference  between  voluntary  and  involuntary  Motives. — Unworthy 
and  inadequate  INIotives ;  a  desire  to  escape  more  laborious  Occupa- 
tions; dread  of  Disgrace  ;  the  gratification  of  parental  Pride;  Emula 
tion ;  Ambition  :  the  two  last,  however,  not  to  be  discarded  as  purely 
mischievous. — Ambition  distinguishable  from  Emulation,  but  liable 
to  the  same  Objection.  —  Characteristics  of  an  ambitious  College- 
student. 

In  my  introductory  Lecture  I  announced,  in  terms  more 
comprehensive,  perhaps,  than  definite  and  inteUigible,  as  the 
intended  subject  of  some  further  discussion,  "  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Scholastic  Life."  To  illustrate  the  importance 
to  the  student  of  comprehending  the  philosophy  of  his  daily 
occiipations,  I  referred  to  the  pursuits  of  common  laborious 
life,  wliich,  no  less  than  the  sciences  and  more  liberal  arts, 
are  dependent  on  certain  principles,  a  knowledge  of  which  is 
indispensable  to  their  successful  prosecution.  It  is  for  want 
of  the  education  and  mental  activity  requisite  for  the  at- 
tainment of  such  humble  degrees  of  theoretical  lore  that 
foreigners  prove  so  greatly  inferior  to  our  better-instructed 
native  population  in  all  but  the  lowest  employments.  Ac- 
quaintance with  the  "theory"  of  the  student's  life  is  no  less 
necessary  to  the  satisfaction  than  it  is  to  the  success  of  the  as- 


24  MOTIVES     TO     THE     PROSECUTION     OF 

pirant  for  intellectual  culture.  Y/ithout  such  induction  into 
first  principles,  the  business  of  education  becomes  a  drudge- 
ry, repulsive  to  the  tastes  of  the  young,  who  no  longer  make 
much  proficiency  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  after  the 
mind  has  lost  the  support  and  the  alleviation  of  its  own  spon- 
taneous sympathies.  I  also  adverted  to  the  great  practical 
importance  of  an  early  familiarity  with  first  principles,  in  an- 
ticipation of  adverse  habits,  which  speedily  interfere  with  the 
mind's  freedom  and  ductility,  and  render  impracticable,  or, 
at  least,  exceedingly  difficult  and  slow,  the  adoption  of  any 
improvement  or  activity  in  any  new  direction  or  method.  I 
did  not  allow  myself  to  doubt  that  my  statements  and  argu- 
ments, here  repeated  in  a  very  summary  way,  would  be  re- 
ceived by  my  intelligent  audience  as  satisfactory  and  con- 
clusive, and  yet  I  did  not  think  it  superfluous  to  admonish 
the  inexperienced  student  of  the  existence  in  our  colleges  of 
an  ancient  theory,  antagonistic  to  mine,  which  presses  phi- 
losophy into  the  ignoble  service  of  indolence,  and  ofiers  dis- 
suasives  from  laborious  methodical  study,  to  a  certain  class 
of  minds  so  plausible  and  soothing  that  they  may  be  in  some 
danger  of  suspecting  repose,  and  not  labor,  to  be  the  chief  con- 
dition of  success  in  college  life. 

It  is  the  assigned  business  of  the  present  occasion  to  sug- 
gest for  your  consideration  the  motives  which  invite  an  in- 
genuous young  man  to  devote  himself  to  liberal  studies,  and 
which,  in  all  the  toil  and  solicitude  incident  to  his  chosen 
career,  are  ready  to  minister  their  unfailing  impulses  for  his 
support  and  consolation.  With  the  hope  of  enhancing  the 
usefulness  of  this  discussion  of  the  true  theory  of  scholastic 
life,  I  will  venture  to  occupy  a  few  moments  with  some  pre- 
liminary remarks  upon  the  nature  and  proper  functions  of 
motives.  In  the  estimation  of  an  auditory  of  thoughtful,  in- 
quisitive young  men,  devoted  to  intellectual  pursuits,  it  will 
be  no  disparagement  to  such  remarks  that  they  are  essential- 
ly metaphysical  in  their  character. 


LIBERAL     STUDIES.  25 

The  treatment  of  first  principles,  in  order  to  be  of  any  val- 
ue, and  worthy  the  attention  of  a  student,  must  always  bo 
metaphysical ;  and  it  is  a  reflection  upon  the  real  intelligence 
and  manliness  of  a  cultivated  mind  to  anticipate  that  it  may 
be  found  to  lack  the  capacity  or  the  taste  to  deal  with  those 
fundamental  propositions  which  .are  the  sources  of  all  just 
reasoning  and  all  wise  theories.  I  will  add  that,  to  a  mind 
really  intent  on  improvement,  and  wilhng  to  rouse  itself  to 
the  exercise  of  its  highest  powers,  no  arguments  are  so  lum- 
inous and  satisfactoiy — none  are  so  full  of  the  germs  of  prac- 
tical wisdom  and  available  results  as  those  which,  under  the 
name  of  metaphysics,  are  often  lost  upon  the  multitude,  not 
so  much  because  they  are  found  to  be  incomprehensible,  as 
because  they  are  decided,  without  examination,  to  be  so  mucli 
unmeaning,  impertinent  jargon,  not  worth  the  easy  efibrt  of 
attention  which  it  would  take  to  understand  them.  I  would 
earnestly  premonish  those  who  hear  me  that  they  can  not 
admit  into-  the  mind  a  conclusion  more  essentially  false  than 
this,  or  more  fatally  pernicious  in  its  influence  upon  their 
future  career  as  students  and  scholars.  T^ever,  young  gen- 
tlemen, never  make  to  yourselves  the  cowardly  concession 
that  you  are  unequal  to  the  tasks  which  scientific  and  philo- 
sophical investigations  impose  upon  you.  No  slander  upon 
your  intellectual  claims  and  dignity  could  be  more  gratuitous 
or  unjust.  Admitting  that  -Nature  has  bestowed  her  gifts 
upon  you  with  only  her  ordinary  liberality,  she  has  yet  fur- 
nished every  sound  mind  with  powers  and  faculties  quite 
adequate  to  the  solution  of  all  the  questions,  metaphysical, 
moral,  and  scientific,  which  a  course  of  collegiate  study  is 
likely  to  suggest.  To  affirm  of  a  mind  that  it  is  incapable  of 
understanding  any  proposition  upon  which  it  has  opportunity 
to  bestow  a  careful  investigation,  is  to  pronounce  that  mind 
imbecile  or  insane,  or  to  declare  that  proposition  illogical  or 
false. 

To  discover  new  truths,  or  to  originate  improved  methods 
B 


26  MOTIVES     TO    THE     PE.OSECUTIONOF 

for  the  elucidation  or  application  of  truths  already  known,  hy 
efibrts  of  high  analysis  or  subtile  combinations,  is  conceded  to 
only  a  few  rare  intellects,  which  shine  forth  upon  the  world  at 
the  rate  of  hardly  two  or  three  in  a  generation.  To  compre- 
hend the  truth  already  divulged,  and  the  method  elaborated 
and  made  luminous  to  our  hand  by  others,  is  only  to  exercise 
a  function  common  to  all  sane  minds.  Such  minds  do,  in  vir- 
tue of  their  constitution  and  "original  gifts,  possess  aptitudes 
for  ascertaining  and  understanding  truth.  Between  them  and 
all  truth  there  are  natural  affinities,  as  really  as  such  rela 
tions  exist  between  the  organs  of  digestion  and  wholesome 
food.  As  inability  to  receive  nutritious  edibles  is  to  be  tak 
en  as  evidence  of  bodily  infirmity  or  of  disease,  so  incapacity 
to  learn  and  comprehend  the  truths  concerned  in  scientific 
and  philosophical  studies  demonstrates  an  abnormal  condition 
of  the  intellect,  which,  whether  it  verges  more  toward  fatu- 
ity or  lunacy,  must  be  treated  as  an  exception  to  a  general 
law.  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  regarded  as  uttering^ a  paradox 
in  place  of  sober  convictions  which  observation  and  experi- 
ence have  wrovxght  in  my  own  mind,  for  there  is  really  no 
fact  connected  with  intellectual  culture  m  regard  to  which  I 
am  more  thoroughly  satisfied.  A  number  of  students,  I  am 
quite  aware,  embrace  a  very  different  theory  in  regard  to 
their  own  capabilities.  They  have  had  the  voluntary  hu- 
mility to  conclude  that  Nature  has  denied  them  the  intellect- 
ual attributes  requisite  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  cer- 
tain branches  of  study  embraced  in  every  academic  course, 
and,  in  a  spirit  of  dutiful  obedience  to  so  high  a  behest,  they 
give  up  the  conflict  with  their  invita  Minerva  with  a  yield- 
ing acquiescence  so  ready  and  even  forward,  that  we  are 
liable  to  mistake  it  sometimes  for  inordinflte  complacency. 
Such  cases,  when  they  really  involve  any  serious  difficulty, 
are  explicable  in  one  of  two  ways.  The  inability  is  the  pro- 
duct, not  the  cause  of  this  humiliating  conclusion,  and  only 
becomes  incurable  in  alliance  with  tire  indolence  which  dis- 


LIBERAL    STUDIES.  27 


couragement  and  irresolution  very  soon  engender ;  or  it  has 
resulted  from  the  neglect  or  the  imperfect  mastery  of  ele- 
mentary principles,  which  hold  to  the  unmanageable  prob- 
lems that  now  overwhelm  the. fainting  spirit  the  relation  oi 
mdispensable,  producing  antecedents.  A  patient,  thorough 
revision  of  early  studies  never  fails  to  relax  the  noose,  and, 
at  the  expense  of  some  manly  exertion,  gives  a  good  deliver- 
ance from  one  of  the  most  stifling  suspicions  that  can  obtain 
a  place  in  the  mind  of  an  ingenuous  young  man — the  sus- 
picion that  Nature,  in  the  paucity  of  her  gifts,  has  predes- 
tined him  to  be,  at  least  in  some  of  the  phases  of  his  mental 
development,  an  irretrievable  dunce.  It  is  not  intended,  in 
what  is  here  put  forth,  to  call  in  question  the  well-established 
fact  that  there  are  great  diversities  in  intellectual  capability 
and  tastes.  In  one  type  of  mind,  imagination  ;  in  another, 
memory  ;  in  a  th?rd,  taste  is  the  most  noticeable  peculiarity  ; 
and  the  predominance  of  either  of  these  is  favorable  to  suc- 
cess in  the  prosecution  of  its  congenial  branch  of  study,  and 
may  become  the  basis  of  a  special  predilection  as  well  as  of 
special  distinction. 

In  this  admission,  however,  there  is  nothing  inconsistent 
with  the  general  principle  here  inculcated,  that  every  sound 
mind,  whatever  be  its  predominant  characterizing  faculty, 
has  that  capacity  which  distinguishes  man  as  man,  and 
makes  him  a  rational  being,  and  not  a  brute — the  faculty  of 
perceiving  and  understanding  truth — all  truth,  whether  sci- 
entific, or  moral,  or  historical. 

Let  us  now  return  from  this  digression,  which  has,  at  least, 
the  merit  of  being  eminently  practical  in  its  suggestions,  and 
of  harmonizing  perfectly  with  our  main  object.  You  will 
have  been  better  prepared,  by  this  brief  interruption,  to  re- 
ceive the  few  remarks  in  which  I  proposed  to  indulge  upon 
the  nature  and  proper  function  of  motives,  in  so  far  as  they  are 
concerned  iuvthe  pursuits  and  the  proficiency  of  the  student 

All  incentives  to  activity  and  industry,  whether  internal 


28  MOTIVES    TO     THE    PROSECUTION    OF 

or  from  without,  are  motives,  but  our  concern  lies  rather  with 
those  which  should  direct  an  upright  mind  in  the  prosecution 
of  a  scholastic  career,  than  with  the  impulses  and  accidents 
which  may  actually  constitute  its  moving  forces.  It  will  oc- 
cur, on  a  slight  degree  of  reflection,  that  here  is  a  very  suf- 
ficient ground  for  distinction,  and  that  it  suggests  to  the  stu- 
dent a  classification  of  motives  not  only  very  remarkable  in 
itself,  but  very  worthy  of  being  heeded  in  his  pursuits.  On 
philosophical  no  less  than  on  moral  grounds,  it  is  an  instruct- 
ive as  well  as  a  deeply-interesting  occupation  to  compare  the 
motives  which  actually  control  us  with  those  which  have  a 
natural  claim  to  this  supremacy.  Such  a  habit  of  inquisi- 
tive introspection  early  established  contains  the  germ  of  all 
improvements,  and  offers  the  surest  pledge  of  excellence.  It 
is  the  teaching  of  a  shallow  mental  philosophy  that  the  pow- 
er of  motive  is  arbitrary,  and  that  the  mind  spontaneously 
yields  to  the  strongest. 

On  all  moral  questions,  at  least,  abundant  experience  de- 
monstrates the  unsoundness  of  such  a  dogma.  We  are  al- 
ways surrounded  with  human  beings,  who,  for  indulgences 
confessedly  the  lowest  and  the  most  wortj^ess,  are  content  to 
sacrifice  interests  felt  and  acknowledged  by  themselves  to 
possess  the  highest  dignity  and  importance.  These  men  are 
entirely  competent  to  control  the  motives  that  control  them, 
and  to  submit  their  lives  to  the  governance  of  a  better  moral 
dynasty,  or  else  they  must  stand  acquitted  of  all  dishonor,  as 
well  as  guilt,  in  the  eye  of  reason  no  less  than  of  righteous- 
ness. The  laws  of  our  nature  indulge  us  with  an  option  in 
regard  to  the  moving  forces  to  which  we  intrust  our  moral 
destiny,  and  the  complexion  of  that  destiny  will  find  its  de- 
velopment in  the  wisdom  or  folly  that  presides  over  that  mo- 
mentous choice.  To  affinn  that  the  motives  which  preside 
over  our  scholastic  career  are  equally  controlling  in  impress^ 
ing  a  fixed  character  upon  the  intellect,  might  savor  of  ex- 
aggeration, but  it  is  quite  within  the  limits  of  moderation  and 


LIBERAL     STUDIES.  29 

truth  to  assign  to  them  a  high  predominating  influence,  not 
to  be  overlooked  in  a  philosophical  estimate  of  the  conditions 
most  favorable  to  intellectual  improvement,  nor  to  be  prac- 
tically neglected  without  incurring  consequences  highly  per- 
nicious, if  not  fatal  to  all  reasonable  hopes  of  success. 

The  youthful  votary  of  intellectual  pursuits  has  this  ad- 
vantage in  the  selection  of  moving  forces  to  which  his  oc- 
cupations shall  be  subjected,  that  he  has  little  occasion  to 
provide  against  the  disturbmg  influence  of  the  passions,  which 
constitute  elements  of  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  formation 
of  moral  character.  There  is,  indeed,  an  ethical  side  to  the 
scholastic  question,  but  as  I  propose  to  treat  the  subject  in 
its  intellectual  aspects  only,  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  moral 
considerations  except  in  the  single  point  of  view  in  which 
they  assume  the  character  of  philosophical  arguments,  and 
so  become  available  as  motives  or  as  means  for  the  promo- 
tion of  mental  improvement. 

It  is  of  the  highest  import  to  the  student  who  aspires  to 
the  best  mental  developments  and  culture,  that  he  puts  him- 
self, at  the  outset,  in  communica^^ion  with  motives  the  most 
pure  and  elevating,  and  such  as  are,  at  the  same  time,  per- 
manent in  their  operation.  I  have  already  vindicated  his 
entire  freedom  of  choice,  and  his  unrestricted  power  to  place 
himself  under  such  motive  influences  as  his  own  judgment 
shall  approve.  In  default,  however,  of  this  voluntary  exer- 
cise of  his  own  discretion,  he  will  find  that  surrounding  cir- 
cumstances or  sheer  accident  have  supplied  the  deficiency, 
and  that  he  is  already  in  motion,  though  little  suspecting,  it 
may  be,  the  agencies  to  which  he  is  indebted  for  overcoming 
his  tendencies  to  congenial  repose. 

The  characteristic  difference  between  the  motives  which 
a  thoughtful  man  voluntarily  chooses  to  rule  over  him,  and 
those  which,  in  the  absence  of  such  a  choice,  volunteer  to  in- 
stall themselves  as  rulers,  resides  in  the  fact  that  the  former 
operate  chiefly  by  attraction,  the  latter  mostly  by  iir  pulsion  ; 


30       MOTIVES  TO  THE  PROSECUTION  OF 

the  first  exciting  and  quickening,  the  other  forcing  and  6tun« 
ning  the  mind's  energies.  The  first  is  a  vitahzing  process, 
which  imparts  to  the  mind  new  vigor  and  capabiUties  anal- 
ogous to  the  power  which  the  body  derives  from  wholesome 
food  and  exercise.  The  other  likewise  produces  motion,  but 
its  force  is  mostly  exhausted  in  overcoming  the  vis  inertice, 
and,  acting  wholly  from  without,  has  no  power  to  correct  'any 
inherent  tendencies  to  indolence  and  inactivity. 

Suppose  a  young  man  to  enter  college  with  no  definite  ob- 
ject or  stirring  ambition  beyond  the  desire  of  efl'ecting  an  es- 
cape from  more  laborious  occupations,  or  of  postponing  for 
some  time  longer  his  yet  doubtful  choice  of  the  business  oi 
profession  which  is  to  employ  his  riper  years,  and  you  are 
very  likely  to  find  in  him  a  palpable  illustration  of  the  met 
aphysical  doctrine  we  are  just  now  discussing.  To  him  the 
force  of  institutional  laws,  and  the  cogent  demands  of  the 
recitation-room,  will  probably  become  chief  incitements  to  ac- 
tivity. A  laudable  self-respect,  which  shrinks  from  the  neg- 
lect or  violation  of  laws  and  usages,  which  he  has  given  a 
tacit  pledge  to  observe  —  a  not  unmanly  pride  which  rel- 
ishes discomfiture  in  the  presence  of  classmates  somewhat 
less  than  it  does  the  labor  of  preparation,  are,  perhaps,  the 
highest  principles  of  action  which  can  be  expected  in  the  cir- 
cumstances supposed.  These,  it  will  be  observed,  do  not  pro- 
pose excellence,  but  impunity,  as  the  chief  object  of  pursuit. 
They  demand  no  forecast,  no  reference  to  remote  or  general 
interests,  however  urgent  or  weighty.  To  shun  petty  evils, 
that  mingle  a  measure  of  discomfort  with  the  satisfaction  of 
the  next  dinner,  or  dash  the  evening's  hilarity  with  a  slight 
mortification,  or  disturb  the  night's  repose  with  some  faint 
whispers  ,of  self-reproach — this  becomes  the  habitual  and  only 
incitement  to  mental  activity,  and  it  may  suffice  to  keep  the 
mind  from  absolute  stagnation  so  long  as  the  dread  of  shame 
is  stronger  than  the  dislike  for  study.  As,  however,  the  op- 
eration of  unworthy  motives  always  tends  to  enfeeble  and 


LIBERAL    STUDIES.  31 

blunt  the  sensibility  on  which  they  act,  the  controlling  in- 
fluence soon  passes  over  from  the  less  to  the  more  humilia- 
ting of  these  conflicting  alternatives,  and  the  sentiment  of 
self-respect  declines  to  a  point  where  the  largest  amount  of 
shame  which  indolence  can  inflict  is  esteemed  more  tolera- 
ble than,  the  smallest  amount  of  intellectual  toil  which  will 
sa<«e  the  falling  spirit  from  the  pity  or  the  ridicule  of  his  com- 
panioiis.  In  this  utter  failure  of  the  only  motives  which  our 
supposition  embraces,  mental  activity  declines  to  its  mini- 
mum, and  the  victim  of  our  metaphysical  experiment  is  left 
a  mere  caput  mortuum,  which  can  only  be  reanimated  with 
intellectual  life  by  the  breath  of  a  loftier  inspiration. 

If,  in  place  of  the  utter  destitution  of  decided  impulses  to- 
ward liberal  studies  which  characterizes  the  case  we  now 
dismiss  from  our  consideration,  the  student  comes  from  the 
lower  schools,  and  from  the  bosom  of  an  affectionate  family, 
animated  with  a  desire  so  to  perform  his  newly-assumed  du- 
ties as  may  satisfy  parental  pride  and  home  expectations,  it 
will  be  readily  admitted  that,  in  this  tangible  and  positive 
principle  of  action,  he  asserts  the  dignity  of  an  independent 
choice,  and  repels  the  tyraimy  which,  as  we  have  seen,  cir- 
cumstances never  fail  to  exercise  over  those  who  lack  the 
wisdom  and  manliness  needful  to  self-government.  Such  a 
motive  to  intellectual  eflbrts  commands  our  respect  from  the 
amiable  sentiments  from  which  it  springs,  and  it  has  a  fair 
prospect  of  finding  a  good  degree  of  permanence  and  strength 
in  the  strength  and  permanence  of  the  affections  in  which  it 
has  its  origin  and  support.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however, 
that  the  impulses  which  produce,  and  the  satisfactions  that 
attend  mental  efforts  made  on  such  grounds,  have  no  natural 
or  philosophical  connection  with  science  and  literature — none 
whatever  with  the  intellectual  culture  and  discipline  which, 
in  every  enlightened  course  of  education,  the  study  of  these 
is  designed  to  promote.  The  filial  sentiment  acting  in  this 
direction  is  rather  a  moral  than  an  intellectual  force,  and  it 


32  MOTIVES    TO     THE    PROSECUTION    OF 

perhaps  partakes  yet  more  largely  of  tlie  nature  of  an  in- 
stinct. It  is  not  adapted  to  awaken  in  the  mind  the  love  of 
knowledge,  or  to  excite  enthusiasm  in  the  pursuits  of  science 
and  letters.  Aspiring  solely  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  parent- 
al affection,  its  highest  aims  are  achieved  when  that  object 
is  reach,ed.  Now  a  little  experience  and  observation  will  con- 
vince the  most  incredulous  that  it  is  no  very  high  stan<ipLrd 
of  attainment — ^no  very  difficult  achievement  in  the  strife  of 
intellect,  that  a  father's  partiality  and%  mother's  love  are 
wont  to  prescribe  for  a  darling  son.  In  the  large  majority  of 
cases,  almost  any  degree  of  indolence  and  ignorance  is  found 
compatible  with  a  transcendent  home-reputation,  and  the 
■dunce  of  the  college  is  installed  by  acclamation  the  oracle 
of  the  fireside.  It  is  no  unnatural  result  of  working  on  such 
an  insufficient  basis  that  astute  diplomacy  and  plausible  rhe- 
torical statements  are  resorted  to,  in  preference  to  hard  study, 
as  the  means  of  quieting  parental  sohcitudes,  and,  provided 
this  point  of  satisfaction  is  actually  attained,  the  motive  in 
ques^on,  as  it  is  found  to  exist  in  some  minds,  is  also  satis- 
fied. It  is  the  common  besetment  of  all  low  incitements  to 
mental  labor  that,  acting  exclusively  ah  extra,  they  open  no 
sources  of  internal  power — they  excite  no  inward  craving 
after  knowledge — develop  in  the  mind  itself  no  inspiring  con- 
sciousness of  a  vocation*to  search  out  and  to  know  the  mani- 
fold truths  with  which  God  has  peopled  the  teeming  universe 
of  matter  and  of  mind. 

A  far  more  effective  principle  of  action,  though  perhaps  of 
a  more  questionable  morality,  does  that  student  adopt  who 
aims,  not  at  excellence  in  the  abstract,  but  to  excel  his  fel- 
lows in  the  race  of  improvement.  In  the  permanence  of  its 
influence,  in  intensity,  and  in  restless  vigilance  and  activity, 
I  incline  to  regard  emulation  as  the  most  reliable  of  that  en- 
tire class  of  motives  which,  because  they  possess  no  affinities 
for  either  the  subjects  or  objects  with  which  education  is  con- 
cerned, and  rather  imjJel  the  mind  by  a  species  of  force  ab- 


LIBERAL    STUDIES.  6[^ 

horrent  to  its  instincts,  than  attract  it  onward  by  the  promiso 
of  growth  and  of  revelations  congenial  to  its  awakened  curi- 
osity, I  have  denominated  unphilosophical.  In  not  a  few  in- 
stances that  have  fallen  under  our  observation,  very  respect 
able  scholarship  has  been  attained,  the  apparent  result  of 
aspirations  which  sought  their  highest  gratification  in  the 
triuAph  over  rivals,  and  in  the  applauses  of  the  scholastic 
community.  A  motive  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  in  its 
nature  neither  philosophical  nor  moral,  which  is  sadly  de- 
fective in  comprehensiveness,  and  in  all  general  philanthro- 
phy,  is  often  found  sufficient,  by  the  constancy  and  intensity 
of  the  stimulus  which  administers,  to  sustain,  through  a  series 
of  years,  an  incessant  mental  activity.  Incidentally,  too,  in 
the  absence  of  other  guides  and  safeguards,  and  as  the  fruit 
of  constant  occupation  and  industrious  habits,  it  sometimes 
performs  the  yet  higher  function  of  exercising  a  conservative 
guardianship  over  the  moral  character. 

In  view  of  these  eminent  services  actually  rendered  both 
to  scholarship  and  good  morals,  I  have  never  been  abl?  to 
sympathize  with  the  efforts  which  have  been  made,  mostly 
on  theoretical  grounds,  to  discourage  and  discard  emulation 
as  an  influence  purely  mischievous,  and  not  to  be  tolerated  in 
institutions  of  learning.  It  is  unquestionably  the  duty  and 
the  interest  of  the  student  to  prosecute  his  scholastic  labors, 
no  less  than  to  conduct  his  life,  on  grounds  most  favorable 
to  a  high  development  of  his  mental  and  moral  capabilities. 
To  the  same  results  should  the  teacher's  co-operative  efforts 
and  counsels  be  directed  ;  but  we  are  bound  to  remember,  as 
the  conclusion  which  all  experience  inculcates,  that  the  agen- 
cy of  the  pupil,  and  not  that  of  the  teacher,  is  wont  to  control 
in  this  latent  and  preliminary  adjustment  of  the  springs  of 
mental  activity.  That  young  man  is  in  precisely  the  best 
position  for  intellectual  improvement  who  is  most  strongly 
urged  on  by  the  purest,  highest  motives  ;  and  he  is  in  pre- 
cisely the  worst  position  who.  in  the  absence  of  all  strong 
B  2 


o4:      MOTIVES  TO  THE  PROSECUTION  OF 

impulses,  internal  or  from  without,  and  conscious  of  no  voca- 
tion, abandons  himself  to  the  ministry  of  circumstances,  the 
experimentwui  crticis  of  whatever  of  skill,  invention,  pa- 
tience, and  other  graces  may  be  found  in  the  instructor.  Un- 
questionably we  should  choose,  if  the  option  were  allowed 
us,  to  concihate  for  such  a  case  of  mental  prostration  the  re- 
viving, invigorating  influences  of  the  purest  and  highest  mo- 
tives. I  think,  too,  we  should  rejoice  at  the  symptoms  of 
returning  animation  produced  by  causes  and  methods  of 
treatment  less  approved,  and  that  we  should  be  thankful 
even  for  the  accident,  or  the  most  questionable  nostrum,  that 
should  become  our  auxiliary  in  the  accomplishment  of  such 
an  amelioration.  It  is  of  the  highest  importance,  and  the 
first  thing  to  be  attempted,  that  by  some  means  we  get  the 
becalmed,  stranded  craft  in  motion.  Once  afloat,  it  may, 
perchance,  be  conducted  where  we  list,  and  so  be  wafted  on 
to  the  accomplishment  of  its  high  adventure  by  healthful  or 
even  heavenly  gales. 

Without  dwelling  farther  upon  the  moral  quality  of  emu- 
lation, I  will  add,  what  has  probably  occurred  to  you  already, 
that  it  has  no  special  inherent  aptitudes  as  a  motive  to  intel- 
lectual pursuits.  It  generates  no  love  of  knowledge — no  ge- 
nial appetencies  for  what  is  beautiful,  and  harmonious,  and 
true  in  the  vast,  fruitful  field  of  research,  and  thought,  and 
spiritual  enjoyment,  which  education,  in  its  best  sense,  stands 
pledged  to  open  to  the  expanding  soul.  It  is  even  more  at 
home,  and  operates  with  more  intensity  and  directness  upon 
the  speed  of  a  foot-race  or  the  muscle  of  a  wrestling  ring, 
than  it  does  in  stimulating  the  mind  in  its  researches,  or  in 
its  processes  of  reasoning. 

Ambition,  which  is  veiy  distinguishable  from  emulation, 
and  should,  I  think,  be  regarded  a  more  respectable,  if  not  a 
more  effective  motive  to  mental  exertion,  is  yet  liable  to  every 
one  of  the  objections  which  have  just  been  enumerated.  It 
has  the  advantage  of  a  broader  horizon,  and  of  courting  dis- 


LIBERAL    STUDIES.  3fi 

tinclions  under  such  conditions  as  imply  no  superiority  that 
may  awaken  a  pang  oi"  regret  or  provoke  an  envious  emotion 
in  the  bosom  of  associates  in  the  race  of  mental  improvement, 
but  it  is  yet  less  favorable  than  emulation  to  thorough  and 
symmetrical  culture.  It  is  wont  to  be  impatient  in  its  aspi- 
rations, to  outgrow  and  slight  the  necessary  conditions  of  all 
eminent  success  in  scholastic  pui-suits.  It  is  prone  to  strike 
out  into  some  eccentric  course,  to  indulge  a  siUy  favoritism  in 
reference  to  branches  of  study  deemed  most  popular  or  best 
suited  to  some  imaginary  specialty  of  mental  structure,  or  to 
the  professional  pursuits  or  public  objects  to  which  the  life  is 
in  purpose  devoted.  The  result  of  all  this  is  a  one-sided 
culture  and  an  ill-balanced  intellect. 

Students  in  college  who  are  denominated  ambitious,  in  the 
sense  here  set  forth,  arc  apt  to  be  characterized  by  a  certain 
magnificence  of  mental  bearing  not  very  practical  nor  very 
teachable.  The  magnitude  of  their  plans  and  the  exorbi- 
tance of  their  expectations  have  a  tendency  to  awaken  in 
them  a  sentiment  of  rather  arrogant  indifierence  for  the  very 
unpretending  pursuits  of  the  student's  daily  life.  A  taste  is 
generated  which  rejoices  more  in  solving  massive  problems 
in  statesmanship  and  polemics  than  in  projectiles  or  Greek. 
Rapid  growth  and  early  maturity  are  chiefly  desiderated. 
Glowing  eloquence  and  an  imposing  style  of  composition,  be- 
cause they  are  regarded  as  indispensable  to  a  brilliant  pub- 
lic career,  are  assiduously  cultivated  in  debating  clubs  and 
by  miscellaneous  reading,  in  forgetfulness  of  the  fundamental 
law  which  denies  such  gifts  as  these  to  mere  desultory  appli- 
cation and  per  saltutn  eflbrts. 

Our  next  Lecture  shall  b*  devoted  to  the  consideration  of 
some  more  healthful  and  aflluent  sources  of  intellectual  im- 
provement 


36  PROPER    INCENTIVES     TO 


LECTURE  III. 

PROPER  INCENTIVES  TO  HIGH  INTELLECTUAL  ATTAIN 
MENTS. 

DifiBculties  in  the  Sirideut's  Career  not  greater  than  they  should  be.— 
A  Mmd  not  Insane  or  Imbecile  is  competent  to  overcome  them.— 
Analogy  between  the  Cultivation  of  the  Mental  and  the  Moral  Pow 
ers. — The  Dictates  of  Conscience. — Proper  Incentives  to  a  thorough 
Education  must  fulfill  two  indispensable  Conditions :  Congeniality  to 
the  Mind  and  Permanency  in  their  Influence. — A  Desire  to  develop 
and  cultivate  the  Intellect. — The  Connection  of  the  Motive  with  the 
End  of  Intellectual  Pursuits. — On  this  Principle,  the  attempt. to  learn 
is  itself  Success,  and  every  Obstacle  overcome  is  a  Triumph. — The 
Student  is  preparing  not  only  for  Temporal  Enjoyments,  but  for  the 
Cycles  of  Eternal  Being. — The  Mental  no  less  than  the  Moral  Char- 
acter receives  ineffaceable  Impressions  in  the  present  Life. — Curios- 
ity as  a  Motive. — Its  Function  analogous  to  that  of  the  Appetite. — Its 
Suggestions  always  to  be  heeded. — Difference  in  this  Respect  be- 
tween a  Wise  Man  and  a  Fool. — Curiosity  as  tending  to  produce  an 
earaest  love  of  Truth  for  its  own  Sake. — Mental  Habitudes  of  New- 
ton and  of  Washington. — Admonitory  Caution. 

I  "WILL  presume,  young  gentlemen,  that  you  retain  some 
recollection  of  the  preliminary  remarks  with  which  I  intro- 
duced my  last  Lecture.  Anticipating  the  necessity  of  employ- 
ing terras  and  methods  of  exposition  which  might  awaken 
apprehension  in  some  minds  cherishing  an  instinctive  horror 
of  any  the  slightest  savor  of  ahstraction,  I  thought  it  well  to 
detain  you  a  few  moments  in  order  to  expose  the  true  char- 
acter of  a  prejudice  at  once  so  unreasonable  and  so  pernicious. 
I  am  sure  that  I  succeeded  in  convincing  all  who  listened  at- 
tentively, that  there  is  no  obstacle  to  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  the  student's  objects  more  common  or  more  really  con- 
temptible than  the  tacit  conclusion  before  which  so  many 
hearts  grow  faint,  that  there  are  studies,  no  matter  whethei 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS  3/ 

physical,  metaphysical,  or  scientific,  at  the  advent  of  which 
ordinary  genius  may  indulge  misgivings,  and  even  shun  the 
conflict  without  just  reproach  or  shame.  In  following  me  in 
the  subsequent  discussion,  each  earnest  listener  became  sat- 
isfied, I  trust,  of  what  such  seekers  after  knowledge  will  al- 
ways find,  that  in  every  branch  of  study  embraced  in  the 
academic  course,  the  difficulties  which  beset  the  student's 
career  are  not  more  or  greater  than  they  should  be,  in  order 
to  due  mental  exertion  and  discipline,  not  greater  than  yield 
readily  to  patient,  intelligent  endeavor,  and  that  any  mind, 
with  the  ordinary  outfit  of  faculties  neither  imbecile  nor  in- 
sane, is  competent  to  the  mastery  of  all  the  problems  which 
our  curriculum  of  liberal  study  imposes  upon  it. 

I  inculcated  as  of  fundamental  importance  that,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  fit  elementary  preparation,  the  aspirant  for  intellect- 
ual culture  should  come  to  his  chosen  work  under  the  au- 
spices of  manly  aims  and  efficient  impulses.  •!  endeavored  to 
exhibit  the  insufficiency  of  some  of  the  motives,  and  the  bad 
working  of  others,  under  whose  dormant  influences  a  number 
of  young  men  are  engaged,  with  various  degrees  of  success, 
in  attempting  to  discharge  the  grave,  far-reaching  duties  of 
their  actual  position.  What  we  have  found  most  reason  to 
condemn  in  the  motive  principles  which  have  already  passed 
under  review,  is  their  want  of  inherent  adaptation  to  act 
upon  the  intellectual  nature  of  man.  Besides  being  partial 
and  inconstant  in  their  operation,  they  act  upon  the  mind  as 
an  external,  gross  agency,  impelling  and  coercing  rather  than 
vitalizing  and  invigorating  its  dormant,  untrained  energies, 
and  drawing  them  into  the  sphere  of  manifold  attractions 
and  delights  where  spontaneity  and  inspiration  hold  their 
Bway.  "VVe  now  proceed  to  consider  some  of  those  genial  in- 
fluences, deemed  by  us  to  be  more  fit  and  potent  incentives 
for  the  student  who  aspires  to  accomplish  an  honorable  ca- 
reer, and  covets  the  dignity  and  the  efficiency  of  being  guided 
by  his  own  enhghtened  principles. 


38  PROPER    INCENTIVES    TO 

Were  we  called  upon  to  furnish  maxims  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  a  young  man  earnestly  intent  on  the  most  perfect 
development  and  culture  of  his  moral  instead  of  his  intel- 
lectual nature,  we  certainly  should  not  hesitate  to  amiounce  to 
him,  as  a  fundamental  principle,  a  scrupulous  and  universal 
obedience  to  enlightened  conscience.  Every  part  of  his  con- 
duct, every  act  of  his  outward  life,  must  recognize  this  su- 
preme authority — must  satisfy,  and  must  aim  to  satisfy,  the 
demand  of  this  inward,  all-potent  monitor.  In  so  far  as  we 
were  successful  in  the  inculcation  of  these  first  principles, 
should  we  confidently  predict  a  rapid  advancement  in  virtue 
and  a  vigorous  manifestation  of  the  moral  faculty.  "  Obey 
the  holy  authority — satisfy  the  natural  wants  of  conscience," 
should  be  our  comprehensive  formula  to  guide  the  inquirer  to 
the  highest  moral  achievements,  and,  with  no  less  certainty, 
to  the  highest  moral  power.  This,  or  some  thing  equivalent 
to  this,  would  b  *the  prescription  of  every  intelligent,  upright 
moralist ;  and  every  intelligent  inquirer  after  the  way  of  duty 
would  accord  unhesitating  assent  to  the  soundness  of  this  ad- 
vice. It  is  by  no  means  certain,  however,  tliat  he  would  give 
heed  to  it  beyond  such  acknowledgments.  It  is  even  prob- 
able that  he  would  set  about  the  formation  of  virtuous  hab- 
its and  virtuous  principles  on  some  other  theory.  He  would 
very  likely  take  for  his  standard  of  morals  the  principles  and 
the  conduct  of  those  with  whom  he  associates  most  intimate- 
ly. Or,  coveting  pop^lar  favor,  he  would  allow  the  maxims 
and  customs  most  prevalent  in  the  community  to  impose  law 
upon  him.  If  he  more  desired  the  reputation  of  exalted  vir- 
tues, then  his  efibrt  would  probably  take  a  special  direction, 
and  he  would  only  be  satisfied  when  the  splendor  of  his  own 
performances  should  make  him  conspicuous  above  the  mul- 
titude, or  even  above  all  competitors  in  this  goodly  race  of 
Pharisaism. 

Now,  whatever  may  be  the  success  of  these  experiments 
— and  it  would  be  easy  to  modify  the  form  of  such  attempts 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL     ATTAINMENT.  39 


indefinitely — it  will  be  true  of  them  all,  that,  conducted  on 
such  principles,  they  can  have  no  power  or  tendency  to  ele- 
vate or  strengthen  the  moral  principles.  The  outward  life 
may  be  improved  to  a  degree  of  excellency  and  renown  that 
shall  provoke  envy  or  emulation.  A  high  reputation  may 
be  won,  and  all  the  conditions  of  an  external  morality  be  sat- 
isfied. Still,  the  problem  with  which  we  started  lacks  solu- 
tion. Conscience  has  not  once  been  taken  into  the  account 
in  all  these  manifold  experiments.  The  development  and 
culture  of  the  moral  nature  really  has  not  been  the  aim  of 
any  one  of  so  many  eflbrts,  nor  has  it  been  directly  advanced 
in  all  of  this  strenuous  endeavor  to  secure  the  outward  ad- 
vantages of  virtue  by  the  manifestation  of  so  many  of  its  im- 
posing forms.  It  is  even  probable  that  the  moral  sen?f'  ^as 
been  enfeebled,  and  that  the  moral  character  has  acUudly 
deteriorated  by  this  homage  to  worldly  motives,  and  this  cor- 
rupting dominancy  of  worldly  policy. 

Without  claiming  for  the  analogy  here  developed  an  unre- 
stricted application  to  the  subject  now  under  consideration,  I 
must  yet  be  allowed  to  think  that  the  intellectual  question 
finds  here  a  very  palpable  and  instructive  illustration.  As, 
in  the  moral  experiment,  reforms  conducted  on  principles 
which  can  not  aspire  to  the  claim  of  being  either  just  or 
virtuous,  produce  valuable  amelioration,  so  the  maxims  and 
motives  which  we  have  condemned  as  having  no  natural  af- 
finity with  the  intellectual  wants,  and  as  being,  on  that  ac- 
count, utterly  incapable  of  reaching  the  highest  ends  of  libera' 
education,  do  nevertheless,  in  the  absence  of  better  auspices, 
perform  a  useful  though  inferior  function. 

In  order  to  their '  efficiency,  our  incitements  to  the  prose- 
cution of  a  course  of  hberal  studies  stand  pledged  to  the  ful- 
fillment of  two  indispensable  conditions.  They  must  be  con- 
genial with  the  mi?id  itself,  and  they  must  be  permanent 
in,  their  influence.  Such  a  motive  is  a  desire  to  develop 
and  cultivate  the  intellectual  nature. 


40  PROPER    INCENTIVES     TO 

You  will  recollect  that  ambition,  emulation,  respect  for 
parents,  dread  of  shame  or  of  penalties,  do  not  propose  intel- 
lectual development  as  an  end,  but  only  as  the  meajis  of  se- 
curing other  ends — power,  praise,  superiority,  impunity.  The 
intellectual  accomplishment  is  thus  degraded  into  an  instru- 
ment for  the  gratification  of  appetites  and  desires,  which  a 
higher  intelligence  ever  deems  it  wise  to  restrain  rather  than 
indulge.  In  conceding  to  mental  culture  the  dignity  of  an 
ultimate  and  sufficient  end,  to  which  all  other  utilities  are 
to  be  esteemed  as  mere  accidents  of  very  secondary  import, 
we  place  the  whole  intellectual  movement  in  a  higher  posi- 
tion, fortified  with  all  possible  securities  against  discomfiture, 
and  furnished  with  the  best  guarantees  of  ultimate  success. 
Conducted  on  any  lower  principle,  the  enterprise  must  needs 
thrive  or  languish  with  the  varying  force  of  the  motive  pow- 
er, and  must  utterly  fail  whenever  the  ambition,  or  the  em- 
ulation, or  the  filial  reverence  shall  have  exhausted  their 
energies.  This  immediate,  philosophical  connection  of  the 
motive  with  the  end  of  our  mental  occupation,  oflers  the  ad- 
ditional advantage  of  insuring  a  measure  of  success  to  every 
endeavor  after  mental  improvement.  When  the  culture  is 
sought  as  the  means  of  gratifying  pride,  or  ambition,  or  ava- 
rice, the  educational  enterprise  is  in  some  measure  exposed 
to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  interests  which  it  aims  to  sub- 
serve. As  pride,  and  ambition,  and  avarice  are  usually  dis- 
appointed in  their  aims,  their  degraded  auxiliary  shares  the 
same  fortunes.  Rescued  from  this  ignominious  servitude, 
each  intellectual  eflbrt  must  be  crowned  with  success,  be- 
cause each  contributes  something  to  the  amoiuit  of  intellect- 
ual strength  and  resources.  The  desire  which  prompted  the 
eflbrt  receives  its  proper  gratification,  and  so  acquires  perpet- 
ually new  vigor  from  sources  independent  of  all  extraneous 
or  accidental  causes.  In  the  race  of  emulation  or  ambition, 
the  inferior  or  the  less  prepared  mind  is  doomed  to  endless 
disappointments,  just  because  it  works  on  a  principle  as  un- 


tl 


HIGH     INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS.  41 


equal  and  variable  as  the  mental  powers  and  activities  of  the 
multitude  whom  chance  has  made  the  partners  or  the  spec- 
tators of  its  toil.  Working  on  the  higher  and  the  sounder 
principle,  disappointment  and  failure  are  clearly  impossible, 
since  each  attempt  to  learn  and  to  know  is  so  much  success 
precisely  of  the  kind,  though,  perhaps,  not  in  the  degree,  de- 
sired. In  such  a  progress,  the  motive  to  labor,  which  is  con- 
genial with  the  mind,  and  wells  up  spontaneously  from  its 
native  depths,  grows  strong,  and  is  made  fresh  and  vital  by 
exercise.  Each  obstacle  overcome  is  a  triumph;  each  ad 
vancing  step  measures  so  much  ground  won  from  the  domain 
of  ignorance,  and  made  tributary  henceforward  to  intellectual 
power  and  aggrandizement. 

Without  dwelling  farther  upon  this  aspect  of  the  subject, 
I  would  offer  a  brief  suggestion  in  regard  to  the  essential 
importance  and  dignity  of  the  intellectual  culture.  A  great 
deal  of  pedantry  has  no  doubt  been  put  forth  on  this  subject, 
and  a  great  many  sage  and  truthful  sentiments  have  sunk,  in 
the  estimation  of  unthinking  minds,  to  the  degradation  and 
the  inefficiency  of  trite  commonplaces,  for  no  other  reason 
than  because  their  intrinsic,  inexhaustible  importance  has 
exalted  them  to  the  dignity  of  oft-reiterated  axioms.  It  can 
never  be  impertinent,  however,  to  remind  an  assemblage  of 
youthful  students  that  their  daily  and  nightly  toils,  often 
wearisome  and  sometimes  irksome,  are  actually,  though  slow- 
ly and  imperceptibly,  working  out  results  the  highest  and  the 
noblest  to  which  uninspired  humanity  can  attain — are  mold 
ing  into  symmetry,  and  efficiency,  and  great  aptitudes  not 
only  the  most  excellent  and  the  most  dignified  portion  of  oui 
complex  nature,  but  the  one  element  of  that  nature  of  which 
excellence  and  dignity  can  be  predicated ;  that  they  are  open- 
ing for  the  present,  and  endowing  for  the  future,  sources  of 
pure,  inexhaustible  satisfactions  and  employments,  congenial 
with  the  soul's  vital,  enduring  appetencies,  and  most  refresh- 
ing in  all  its  possible  modes  and  times  ;  that  they  are  train- 


42  PROPER     INCENTIVES    TO 

irig  the  mind  for  the  conflicts  of  opinion  and  of  human  affairs 
— for  the  achievements  of  science  and  art — for  the  pleasures 
and  the  performances  of  literary  leisure  or  literary  toil ;  and 
more  than  all,  and  comprehending  all,  to  be  the  receptacle 
and  the  dwelling-place  of  the  sublime  truths  which  Nature 
yields  up  to  patient  investigation,  and  of  the  holy  revelations 
which  Nature's  God  has  given  forth  through  his  word  and 
by  his  glorious  Son — all,  all  to  be  the  mind's  own  treasure 
and  swelling  joy — to  be  the  subjects  of  its  future  medita- 
tions, the  elements  of  profounder  analyses  and  higher  com- 
binations, and,  if  Religion  be  conciliated  as  the  handmaid  and 
sanctifier  of  literary  toil,  to  become  themes  for  praise  and 
thanksgiving — incitements  to  adoring  wonder  and  spiritual 
worship. 

I  do  not  regard  myself  as  using  a  theological,  but  a  purely 
and  strictly  philosophical  argument  when  I  add,  as  a  mighty 
auxiliary  to  the  considerations  just  now  suggested,  that  the 
student,  in  laboring  for  the  invigoration,  and  enlargement, 
and  illumination  of  the  mind,  and  for  its  endowment  with 
inexhaustible  resources  for  enjoyment  and  activity,  is  not 
providing  merely  for  temporal  exigencies  and  satisfactions. 
He  is  engaged  in  the  immeasurably  more  important  work 
of  furnishing  his  immortal  nature  with  the  vigor  and  the 
grasp,  the  appliances  and  the  capabilities,  the  insight  and 
the  momentum  with  which  it  shall  be  ushered  into  its  ulti- 
mate state,  and  fulfill  the  functions  and  the  endless  cycles 
of  eternal  being. 

It  is  a  conclusion  suggested  by  reason  and  by  all  sound 
analogies,  that  the  mental  character,  no  less  than  the  moral, 
receives  its  fixed  cast  and  inefiaceable  impression  here — that 
the  present  life  is  essentially  a  probation  for  the  intellectual 
nature  as  truly  as  it  is  for  the  moral.  Admitting  the  mind's 
immortality  of  existence  and  activity,  and  taking  into  account 
the  familiar  phenomena  attendant  on  the  different  stages  of 
its  development,  it  seems  to  me  not  only  probable,  but  little 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS.  43 

less  than  demonstrably  true,  that  its  earthly  career  and  train- 
ing holds  to  its  endless  life  hereafter  much  the  same  relation 
which  the  forming  period  of  childhood  and  youth  sustains  to 
subsequent  years.     As  negligent  early  training  finds  no  rem- 
edy in  the  endeavors  of  after  years,  when  the  mind's  suscep- 
tibilities are  blunted,  and  its  yielding,  plastic  nature  is  im 
prisoned  in  the  iron  stabilities  of  immutable  habit,  so  the 
mental  infirmities  and  crudities  which  survive  the  opportu- 
nities of  our  earthly  career  can  not  calculate,  so  far  as  we  have 
any  ground  either  of  hope  or  conjecture,  upon  remedial  pro- 
visions and  meliorations  in  the  world  to  come.     It  ought  not, 
perhaps,  to  be  expected  that  the  motive  for  dihgent,  pains- 
taking mental  culture  which  these  considerations  suggest  will 
exert  its  legitimate  authority  over  the  larger  number  of  minds  ; 
but  whoever  will  commune  thoughtfully  and  reverently  with 
so  high  an  argument,  must,  I  am  sm-e,  become  conscious  of  ar. 
incentive  to  intellectual  activity  more  potent  than  this  world's 
fading  interests  can  inspire — an  incentive  that  shall  preside 
over  all  his  benignant  opportunities  and  precious  hours — ^that 
shall  invest  with  dignity,  and  even  with  sanctity,  the  entire 
scholastic  life,  and  impart  to  such  advances  after  mental  dis- 
cipline as  even  the  humblest  capacity  is  capable  of  achieving, 
an  inappreciable  value  which  shall  a  thousand  times  out- 
weigh the  ills  imposed  by  study  or  by  poverty — that  shall 
appease  all  the  solicitudes  which  in  so  many  foi-ms  and  de- 
grees beset  the  student's  career,  and  shall  arouse  an  essential 
manliness  to   overawe  the   illusions,  and   allurements,  and 
base  appetites  and  passions  which,  under  lower  auspices,  so 
often  corrupt  and  enslave. 

There  would  have  been  a  philosophical  propriety  in  giving 
to  Curiosity  the  precedence  of  order  in  discussing  the  motives 
to  scholastic  toils,  but  I  preferred  such  an  arrangement  as 
might  incidentally  and  at  the  outset  suggest  the  proper  ob- 
jects and  ends  of  education,  as  well  as  the  incentives  most 
adapted  to  urge  the   student   on  to  mental  achievements. 


44  mOPER    INCENTIVES     TO 

Curiosity  fulfills  in  the  business  of  education  a  function  not 
unlike  that  of  the  appetite  m  its  relation  to  bodily  vigor  and 
health.  The  natural  craving  for  food  has  no  conscious  refer- 
ence to  the  health  or  strength  of  the  physical  man,  but  finds 
its  utmost  satisfaction  in  the  aliment  by  wliich  these  are  pro 
duced  and  sustained.  Curiosity  likewise,  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  mind's  appetite  for  its  proper  nutriment,  takea 
no  thought  for  the  mental  growth  and  discipline  to  which  it 
contributes  so  powerfully,  but  is  wholly  occupied  with  the 
novelties  and  with  the  quest  that  constitutes  the  real  instru- 
ments and  media  concerned  in  intellectual  improvement. 
This  is  eminently  a  natural  and  congenial  motive  to  scholas- 
tic eflbrt.  An  original,  inborn  element  of  the  mind's  consti 
tution,  it, operates  even  before  the  dawn  of  reason,  and  groAvs 
in  strength  and  activity  with  every  new  degree  of  intellect- 
ual development.  Under  any  judicious  system  of  mental 
culture,  curiosity  may  be  relied  on  as  a  stable  influence  little 
exposed  to  disturbing  interference  from  without,  and  never 
liable  to  become  inert  or  exhausted,  except  in  the  most  be- 
sotted minds,  in  which  essential  original  deficiencies  have 
been  aggravated  by  indolence  and  vice  into  positive  organic 
malformations.  I  know  not  that  a  lesson  of  higher  practical 
value  can  be  inculcated  upon  the  student  than  finds  expres- 
sion in  earnest  admonitions  to  give  the  fullest  heed  to  the 
suggestions  of  curiosity — that  he  cultivate  it  sedulously,  and 
follow  it  joyfully — that,  in  restraining  it  from  trifles,  he  never 
hastily  proscribe  as  a  trifle  the  most  insignificant  fact  that 
may  lead  to  the  disclosure  of  a  law — that  he  lovingly  invoke 
and  never  harshly  repress  the  inquisitive  spirit  that  looks  for 
gold  and  pearls  in  all  that  shines,  and  finds  mysteries  or  •prod- 
igies where  stupid  dullness  only  stares  upon  inanity.  In  fine, 
that  he  cherish  and  obey  this  wakeful,  most  suggestive  Pro- 
tean divinity,  in  full  confidence  that  he  will  thus  most  effect- 
ively multiply  the  sources  and  the  satisfactions  of  mental  im 
provement — that  thus  he  may,  at  the  same  time,  both  aug- 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS.  45 

ment  the  momentum  and  lessen  the  friction  of  intellectual 
exertion.  We  possess  sufficient  data  for  explaining  very 
satisfactorily  the  difference  between  a  wise  man  and  a  fool 
when  wc  know  that  the  one  not  only  has  the  organ  of  curi- 
osity well  developed,  but  has  labored  diligently  for  its  devel- 
opment as  one  of  the  secrets  of  intellectual  power — that  he 
has  walked  abroad  from  his  youth  with  open  eyes  and  ears, 
inquisitive  and  vivacious,  ever  eager  to  investigate  and  to 
comprehend  what  in  the  world  of  mind  and  of  matter  is  of- 
fered to  his  notice  ;  while  the  other,  with  all  the  apathy  of 
a  graven  image,  has  moved  on  with  his  generation,  blind  and 
deaf  in  the  midst  of  phenomena  rife  with  the  treasures  of  all 
terrestrial  and  heavenly  wisdom. 

I  think  we  are  v/ont  to  denominate  as  curiosity  the  rest- 
less appetency  for  novelty  and  discovery  which  are  always 
observable  in  the  young,  when  possessed  of  good  natural  en- 
dowments, rather  than  the  no  less  intense  eagerness  that 
stimulates  the  maturer  man  in  similar  pursuits.  I  think,  too, 
there  may  be  just  ground  for  this  distinction,  and  that  the 
now  undisciplined  impulse,  without  losing  any  of  its  vigor, 
does,  at  least  in  many  mstances,  subside  into  the  sobrieties 
of  a  permanent,  cultivated,  circumspect,  controlhng  love  of 
truth.  This,  I  apprehend,  is  the  natural  progress  of  the  mind, 
and  that  the  lower  motive,  or  perhaps  we  should  say,  the 
same  motive  in  its  less  perfect  form,  has  a  spontaneous  tend- 
ency towards  a  higher  type  when  what  was  special  and 
untutored  in  its  more  juvenile  efforts  is  merged  in  their  bet- 
ter final  development. 

Of  a  human  mind  which  has  attained  to  the  state  where 
an  earnest  love  of  truth  has  become  the  habitual  ruling  im- 
pulse, we  can  not  affirm  less  than  that  education  has  fully 
achieved  its  highest  object  in  such  a  consummation.  It  has 
fairly  introduced  the  intellect  upon  an  endless  career,  under 
an  attracting  force  at  once  powerful,  congenial,  and  inex 
haustible.     In  searchinof  for  the  truths  which  it  loves,  and 


46  PROPER    INCENTIVES     TO 

in  communing  with  them,  the  mind  will  henceforward  enjoy 
all  possible  alleviations  of  toil,  and  command  the  highest 
sources  of  satisfaction  and  growth.  It  is  a  mighty  and  a 
pregnant  discovery  never  fully  and  consciously  recognized 
till  the  mind  has  reached  that  point  in  its  progress  when 
knowledge  becomes  wisdom,  that  the  laws  and  the  facts 
which,  whatever  be  the  character  and  special  direction  of 
our  studies  and  investigations,  it  is  their  one  rational  object 
to  ascertain  and  disclose,  are  realities — are  truths  to  which 
the  Supreme  Intelhgence  gives  expression  in  all  the  phases 
of  things  and  of  history. 

Regarded  in  this  light,  which  some  reflection  will  satisfy 
any  thoughtful  mind  is  the  only  just  light,  the  pursuits  of 
science  and  literature  assume  a  deeply  interesting  and  even 
a  holy  character,  which  adds  immeasurably  to  their  efficacy 
both  as  attractive  motives,  and  as  the  media  and  instruments 
of  intellectual  enlargement  and  discipline.  Such  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  real  dignity  and  the  sublime  relations  which  be- 
long to  the  proper  objects  of  the  student's  occupations,  can 
not  fail  of  inspiring  him  with  a  high  reverence  for  all  truth, 
and  of  guarding  him  against  the  disturbing  interference  of 
those  passions  and  prejudices  which,  upon  many,  perhaps 
upon  most  minds,  exert  an  unsuspected  but  most  pernicious 
influence,  fatally  obstructive  of  the  highest  development  and 
power.  Under  the  favorable  conditions  we  have  supposed 
— above  all  other  conditions — under  the  benignant  auspices 
of  this  holy  reverence  for  truth,  intellectual  occupations 
speedily  impress  upon  the  mind  a  peculiar  character  of  se- 
renity and  sobriety,  quicken  and  refine  the  powers  of  percep- 
tion and  discrimination  into  the  delicacy  and  spontaneity  of 
an  original  taste,  and  so  augment  the  grasp,  the  vigor,  the 
astuteness,  and  the  vivacity  of  the  reasoning  faculties,  that 
their  evolutions  more  resemble  the  automatic  decisions  of  in- 
stinct and  intuition  than  ordinary  processes  of  ratiocination 

Such,  as  it  seems  to  me,  must  have  been  the  mental  hab- 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS.  47 

itudes  of  Newton,  formed  chiefly  in  scientific  investigations, 
but  found  equally  efl'ective  and  unerring  when  employed  in 
the  solution  of  the  profoundest  questions  of  morals,  theology, 
and  public  affairs.  Such,  as  I  always  imagine,  was  the  in- 
tellectual character  as  well  as  training  of  Washington,  whose 
serene  wisdom  gave  forth  those  simple  authoritative  oracles 
which  were  able  to  calm  the  passions  and  shape  the  destiny 
of  an  unformed  nation,  rendered  turbulent  and  chaotic  by 
the  endless  discussions  and  clashing  theories  of  its  profound 
statesmen*  and  brilliant  orators.  '  * 

I  have  here  indicated  a  standard  of  mental  capacity  and 
culture,  which  is  not,  indeed,  to  be  held  up  as  fully  attaina- 
ble by  all,  but  which  may,  I  think,  be  judiciously  recom- 
mended to  young  men  aspiring  to  excellence  as  a  noble  ideal, 
to  be  contemplated  hopefully  and  reverently,  approachable 
proximately,  and  by  different  grades  of  intellect,  in  such  de- 
grees as  shall  very  accurately  measure  their  success  and  prog- 
ress in  mental  education.  This  conception  of  a  well-or- 
dered, well-furnished  intellect,  which  very  correctly  describes 
my  highest  idea  of  a  true  philosopher  and  sage,  must  be  the 
result  of  a  course  of  training  and  self-culture  conducted  on 
an  enlightened  theory  and  under  favorable  auspices.  As  the 
most  hopeful  means  for  securing  this  extraordinary  degree 
of  mental  symmetry,  completeness,  and  efficiency,  I  may  refer 
to  suggestions  already  made,  and  to  some  others  which  I  may 
have  occasion  to  propose. 

One  practical  admonition,  however,  I  here  subjoin.  Of 
that  class  of  students  best  endowed  with  the  opacities  and 
aspirations  wliich  might  raise  them  into  this  exalted  sphere 
of  intellectual  superiority,  a  few  of  the  most  highly  gifted 
exclude  themselves  from  the  waiting  honor  by  prematurely 
letting  in  upon  the  mind  such  exciting,  absorbing  influences 
as  necessarily  disturb  the  balance  and  harmonious  play  of  its 
ductile  capabilities,  and  just  at  this  most  critical  period  inter- 
fere rudely  and  irretrievably  with  its  symmetrical  develop- 


48  PROPER    INCENTIVES     TO 

meiit.  An  ardent,  enthusiastic  temperament,  very  favorable 
and  helpful  to  the  highest  excellence  while  its  quickening 
influence  is  difiused,  and  gives  character  and  momentum  to 
the  entire  of  the  intellectual  movements,  when  long  concen- 
trated upon  a  single  subject,  and  shut  up  to  the  task  of  vi- 
tahzing  and  emblazoning  some  favorite  single  idea,  often  de- 
velops an  excrescence  and  a  deformity,  and  gives  a  bad  prom- 
inence to  one  bloated  feature  of  the  mind  by  exhausting  upon 
it  all  the  healthful  energies  of  the  system. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  young  man  incuft  evils  as 
grievous  by  vi^asting  the  generous  enthusiasm  of  his  nature  on 
some  transient,  if  not  trivial  excitement,  w^hich  he  adopts,  and 
represents  in  the  midst  of  his  own  httle  public  or  of  the  scho- 
lastic community  with  the  most  disinterested  zeal,  and  with 
abounding  sympathies  that  fully  occupy  his  spare  hours,  and 
give  premature  exercise  to  his  budding  logic  and  eloquence. 
There  is  a  certain  eclat  in  being  the  precocious  patron  of 
questions  that  agitate  senates  and  stir  the  heart  of  a  nation. 
No  wonder  if  some  years  of  such  stimulating  occupation  leave 
their  inefiaceable  vestiges  upon  a  plastic  nature  still  in  the 
gristle.  The  result  is  visually  a  one-sided  development  that 
no  subsequent  training  ever  corrects.  Accustomed  too  early 
to  act  under  the  strong  stimulants  which  party  spirit  and 
party  strife  know  how  to  supply,  the  mind  gradually  loses 
its  power  to  act  with  energy  in  any  other  direction,  or  except 
under  such  excitements  as  necessitate  exaggerated  action. 
All  this  exorbitance  becomes  habitual — grows  to  be  a  law  and 
a  despotism  t^  which  the  mind  thenceforward  is  in  bondage. 

The  serene  majesty  of  truth — the  calm  processes  of  rea- 
soning exalted  into  unconscious  intuitions — the  dominant, 
clear  intelligence  which  deserves  the  name  of  wisdom,  are 
never  reached  by  a  mind  once  thoroughly  infected  with  such 
a  mania.  Nothing  is  congenial  to  it,  or  has  much  power  to 
move  it,  which  can  not  gratify  the  predominant  appetite  for 
emotion  or  polemics.     The  blunder  of  the  boy  becomes  the 


HIGH    INTELLECTUAL    ATTAINMENTS.  49 

inheritasce  of  the  man,  whose  perverted  intellect  at  length 
scarcely  recognizes  the  distinctions  of  true  and  false,  and 
comes  to  feel  that  one  has  about  as  fair  claims  as  the  other 
to  a  hearing,  provided  only  it  has  an  ingenious  show^ing  of 
argument  or  sentiment  for  its  commendation.  Our  sugges- 
tions seek  to  inculcate  the  practical  lesson,  that  at  the  form- 
ing period  when  the  sensation  and  emotional  nature  is  always 
more  fully  developed  than  the  intellectual,  and  is  very  liable 
to  be  provoked  into  exorbitant  action,  the  student  should 
avoid  occasions  that  are  likely  to  exaggerate  this  tendency 
into  an  habitual,  predominant  mental  force.  He  will  thus 
guard  himself  against  a  partial,  one-sided  culture,  and  pre- 
serve this  precious  motive  power  unwasted  and  uncorrupted 
to  augment  the  intellectual  efficiency  of  riper  years. 

C 


50  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF 


f  LECTURE  IV. 

DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  MENTAL  FAG 
ULTIES. 

Retrospect  of  the  preceding  Suggestions. — Claims  of  Patriotism  and  of 
Religion. — What  is  Education? — Analogies  from  physical  Training, 
Labor,  Rest,  Recreation,  Diet,  Dress,  general  Symmetry. — Distortion 
and  Malformation. — Some  Faculties  of  the  Mind  invigorated  at  thev 
expense  of  others. — Illustrations. — Course  of  Study  should  be  com- 
prehensive, well  selected,  and  well  proportioned. — It  is  the  mental 
Effort,  and  not  the  Knowledge,  attained  that  disciplines  the  Mind. — 
Illustrations. — Shallow  but  common  Argument  against  the  pursuit  of 
literary  Studies. — Grievous  Mistakes  into  which  Students  fall  from 
not  appreciating  the  true  Idea  of  Education. — The  Mischief  enhanced 
by  the  example  of  showy  Accomplishments. — The  Course  of  Studies 
pursued  in  American  Colleges. —  The  Result  of  protracted  Experi- 
ments in  Education,  and  the  best  System  ever  devised  for  the  Devel 
opment  and  Discipline  of  the  Mind. 

In  my  last  Lecture  I  called  your  attention  to  several  con 
siderations  explaining  and  enforcing  the  motives  best  adapt- 
ed by  their  nature,  as  well  as  by  their  strength,  to  sustain 
the  student  in  his  scholastic  career.  The  importance  and 
essential  dignity  of  mental  culture,  as  the  elevation  of  man's 
higher  nature,  and  as  an  indispensable  preparation  not  only 
for  the  higher  duties  of  life,  but  probably,  also,  for  the  pro- 
foundly interesting  exigencies  of  the  endless  future,  were 
urged  with  an  earnestness  which  I  am  sure  did  not  trans- 
cend the  significance  and  the  solemnity  of  such  an  argu- 
ment. Inferior  in  dignity  but  not  in  efficiency,  curiosity  was 
there  commended  as  worthy  of  the  student's  special  regard, 
not  more  because  it  constitutes  one  of  the  most  powerful  in- 
citements to  mental  activity,  but  because  it  is  very  liable  to 
be  diverted  from  its  legitimate  objects  and  exhausted  on  friv- 
olous pursuits.     A  sincere,  reverent  love  of  truth  seems  ea- 


THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES.  51 

titled  to  pre-eminence  among  philosophical  incentives  to  in> 
tellectual  eflbrts,  and  I  intimated  the  opinion  that,  in  the  best 
constituted  minds,  there  is  always  a  tendency  to  rise  up  into 
this  higher  sphere,  where  intellectual  activities  and  acquisi- 
tions minister  directly  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  mind's  pro- 
foundest  wants.  Because  the  intense,  perennial  excitement 
which  youth  and  inexperience  always  find  in  the  fierce  agi- 
tation of  partisan,  and  especially  of  political  questions,  is  usu- 
ally injurious  to  mental  improvement,  and  often  proves  fatal 
to  the  sjTnmetrical  development  of  the  mind's  powers,  I  urged 
the  gveat  practical  importance  of  postponing  any  very  active 
participation  in  these  disturbing  pursuits  till  the  mind  shall 
be  prepared  for  such  colhsions  by  greater  mat^ity  and  more 
perfect  discipUne. 

I  have  not  dwelt  upon  some  considerations,  which  operate 
with  greater  force,  perhaps,  than  any  other  upon  a  considera- 
ble number  of  young  men  engaged  in  scholastic  pursuits.  It 
does  not  suit  the  more  special  design  which  guides  our  pres- 
ent inquiries  to  discuss  a  class  of  motives  which,  though  con- 
fessedly the  most  venerable  and  authoritative,  derive  their 
efficiency  rather  from  their  moral  than  from  their  philosophi- 
cal character.  On  another  occasion  I  should  unquestionably 
insist  upon  the  paramount  claims  of  patriotism  and  religion, 
as  most  worthy  to  incite  the  young  to  put  forth  strenuous 
and  incessant  efforts  for  the  acquisition  of  such  knowledge 
and  discipline  as  may  qualify  them  to  do  good  service  in  the 
cause  of  their  country  and  of  the  human  race.  After  all  that 
has  been  done  to  elevate  scholarship  and  to  multiply  well- 
educated  men  among  us,  our  rapid  advancement  in  popula- 
tion and  wealth,  and  in  the  arts  that  minister  to  physical 
enjoyment,  has  far  outrun  the  progress  of  liberal  education, 
and  this  alarming  disproportion  of  intellectual  to  material  re- 
eources  is  constantly  increasing.  It  requires  no  prophetic  gift 
to  foretell  the  inevitable  result,  in  a  degraded  morality  and 
civilization,  of  this  unequal  struggle  of  light  with  darkness, 


52  DEVELOPMENT     AND    DISCIPLINE     OF 

if  vigorous  efibrts  shall  not  be  made  to  restore  the  conserva- 
tive element  to  its  just  ascendency ;  and  I  must  think  that 
every  young  man  who  resists  the  temptations  of  business  and 
speculation,  and  resolves  at  all  hazards  and  sacrifices  to  give 
to  his  country  a  well-cultivated  intellect  and  a  pure  charac- 
ter, does  good  service  to  the  state,  and  fulfills  the  high  func- 
tion of  a  patriot.  If  religion,  the  only  principle  of  action 
more  exalted  than  patriotism,  shall  be  the  motive  for  pre- 
i'erring  to  wealth  or  ease  the  more  toilsome  and  self-denying 
intellectual  career,  a  yet  higher  virtue  is  involved  in  the 
choice  which,  in  consecrating  the  student  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  man,  fully  pledges  him  to  the  best  interests  of  his 
country. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  ask  and  to  answer  the  very  prac- 
tical question,  "What  is  education?"  What  are  the  objects 
which  should  be  sought  by  the  intelligent  student,  who  as- 
pires, on  the  highest  moral  or  philosophical  grovurds,  to  make 
the  most  of  his  scholastic  course  ? 

Authors  and  teachers  have  supplied  us  with  many  satis 
factory  definitions  of  education,  especially  the  later  writers 
upon  the  subject,  who  have  been  actuated  by  a  very  lauda- 
ble desire  to  give  to  the  floating  maxims  and  usages  of  the 
teacher's  vocation  the  form  and  dignity  of  a  science.  All 
the  later  definitions  of  education  embrace  physical  as  well  as 
mental  training,  thus  recognizing  an  ancient  and  nearly  ob- 
solete idea,  and  restoring  it  to  its  just  importance  and  position 
as  a  fundamental  principle.  Bearing  in  mind,  as  a  truth  now 
generally  admitted,  that  education  is  the  preparation  of  the 
intellectual  and  physical  nature  of  a  human  being  for  the 
best  performance  of  all  his  duties  and  functions,  we  may  find 
in  the  culture  bestowed  upon  the  grosser  element  of  our  com- 
pound humanity,  in  every  judicious  system  of  training,  some 
instructive  analogies  to  guide  us  in  the  higher  and  more  dif- 
ficult work  of  educating  the  mind. 

What  aims  and  processes  are  involved  in  educating  th« 


THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES.  5u 


physical  constitution  of  man  for  the  most  efficient  and  satis- 
factory fulfiUment  of  its  proper  offices  ?  Without  attempt- 
ing any  logical  analysis  of  this  complicated  subject,  we  may 
affirm,  as  the  unquestionable  judgment  of  all  whose  opinion 
is  of  any  value,  that  every  judicious  system  of  physical  train- 
ing must  aim  at  the  most  perfect  development  of  all  the  or- 
gans and  sources  of  power  that  belong  to  man's  bodily  struc- 
ture. Nothing  must  be  omitted  which  will  conduce  to  the 
symmetry,  the  strength,  the  beauty,  or  the  activity  of  the 
material  frame.  Its  powers  of  endurance  and  of  adaptation 
to  all  the  changes  and  varieties  of  labor  or  of  rest,  to  which 
it  is  likely  to  be  exposed,  will  be  sedulously  cultivated.  The 
utmost  attention  will  be  paid  to  general  health,  and  such 
habits  of  labor,  of  recreation,  of  rest,  of  diet,  of  dress,  will  be 
cultivated  as  are  believed  to  constitute  the  best  guarantees 
of  imiform  and  prolonged  vigor,  and  the  best  safeguards 
against  infirmity  and  disease  in  all  their  forms,  degrees,  and 
procuring  causes.  So  far  as  watclifulness,  and  persevering, 
painstaking  effi)rts  are  able  to  secure  such  objects,  will  every 
limb  be  trained  to  the  most  graceful  form  and  movement, 
and  each  muscle  and  organ  concerned  in  either  voluntary  or 
involuntary  action  be  endowed  with  all  possible  solidity  and 
strength  of  fibre.  In  whatever  degree  of  perfection  these  ad- 
vantages shall  be  combined  in  an  erect,  weU-proportioned, 
manly  form,  free  from  all  ungainliness  of  attitude  and  awk- 
wardness of  motion,  in  the  same  degree  should  we  be  pre- 
pared to  announce  that  the  material  specimen  of  humanity 
which  should  be  the  result  of  this  manifold  experiment  unit- 
ed in  liimself  the  best  gifts  of  nature  and  of  education. 

It  would  be  an  egregious  blunder  in  this  molding  process 
if,  in  the  narrowness  of  their  theory,  or  through  deficiency  in 
care  or  skill,  the  parents  or  teachers  should  bestow  all  their 
formative  labor  upon  a  single  hmb  or  set  of  muscle?,  unmind- 
ful of  the  superior  claims  of  general  sym-metry.  It  would  mar 
the  entire  undertaking  should  the  physical  training  be  con- 


54  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE     OF 

ducted  on  the  baseless  supposition  that  delicacy  of  complex- 
ion, or  white,  slender  hngers,  or  graceful  dancing  are  the 
highest  attributes  of  manhood.  Nothing  could  be  more  fa- 
tal to  the  general  object  of  rearing  up  an  effective,  faultless 
specimen  of  material  humanity  than  an  attempt  to  give  spe- 
cial prominence  to  some  particular  object  or  accomplishment 
held  in  most  esteem  by  the  operator.  The  utmost  care  must 
be  used  to  check  all  such  exaggerated  developments  which 
unavoidably  disturb  the  general  harmony  and  effect.  It  is 
the  greatest  misfortune  of  a  child  to  be  prematurely  con 
signed  to  the  occupation  which  is  to  employ  his  riper  years 
— a  fate  which  insures  the  inordinate  development  of  organs 
and  aptitudes  concerned  in  the  special  pursuit  at  the  expense 
of  the  system.  The  formation  of  habits  belonging  to  any 
particular  trade  or  vocation  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
postponed  till  the  human  frame  has  acquired  a  firmness  of 
texture,  which  is  able  to  resist  encroachments  from  without, 
and  to  guard  itself  against  distortions  and  malformations, 
which  a  too  early  contact  with  mechanical  labor  is  apt  to 
inflict.  The  well-developed,  mature  man  has  attained  to  a 
physical  condition  which  has  nothing  to  fear  from  such  causes 
.and  agencies — ^which  successfully  resists  the  material  aggres- 
sion, and  reacts  against  the  external  violence  that  would  mar 
its  symmetry  and  bow  down  its  statcliness. 

I  think  it  would  strike  every  one  as  the  height  of  absurd- 
ity, though  it  be  precisely  such  an  absurdity  as  we  observe 
every  day  committed  in  the  education  of  the  intellect,  should 
we  see  a  parent  endeavoring,  by  such  arts  as  he  might,  to 
induce  a  large  development  of  the  right  arm  because  his  son 
is  destined  to  wield  a  sledge-hammer,  or  sedulously  cultivat- 
ing a  curvature  of  the  spme  because  he  is  likely  to  follow  the 
plow. 

The  analogies  suggested  by  these  remarks  on  physical  ed- 
ucation, and  their  obvious  applications  to  the  mental  train- 
ing with  which  we  are  at  present  chiefly  concerned,  will 


THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES.  bb 

readily  occur  to  every  attentive  student.  I  may  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  substantial  correctness  of  these  educational 
maxims  is  self-evident,  and  will  not  be  called  in  question  by 
any  intelligent  person.  The  general  principles  concerned 
in  intellectual  training  are  in.  themselves  equally  plain,  and 
would,  with  the  same  readiness,  be  acknowledged,  but  for  the 
obscurity  in  wlaich  they  have  been  involved  by  over-much 
discussion  and  controversy.  The  ignorance  and  inexperi- 
ence of  parents,  the  restless  impatience  of  some  students,  and 
the  stubborn  indolence  of  others,  raise  a  multitude  of  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  the  best  methods  of  mental  culture,  when 
there  is,  in  reality,  no  reasonable  ground  for  doubt.  Because 
.no  such  temptations  to  adopt  an  erroneous  theory  of  physical 
education  exist,  this  part  of  the  subject  is  quite  free  from  dif- 
ficulty, so  far  as  principles  are  concerned.  Poverty,  or  the 
want  of  intelligence  or  of  caution,  do,  indeed,  lead  to  a  di- 
versity of  practice.  Children  of  tender  years  are  consigned 
to  labor  in  factories  or  mines,  or  to  the  drudgery  of  agricul- 
tural employments;  but  the  results  of  these  injudicious  ex- 
periments are  usually  so  obvious  and  mischievous  as  to  re- 
buke the  folly,  and  expose  the  unnatural  theory,  if  theory  it 
may  be  called,  on  which  they  are  conducted.  The  mind  is 
not  less  susceptible  than  the  body  to  injuries  inflicted  by  sim- 
ilar mismanagement,  but  because  it  wears  its  scars  and  its 
distortions  out  of  sight,  both  the  theoretical  blunder  and  the 
irretrievable  mischief  escape  the  notice  of  careless  observers. 
I  return  to  the  main  subject,  not  without  a  measure  of 
confidence  that  this  preliminary  discussion  will  be  found  to 
have  shed  some  light  upon  it.  Apt  illustrations  carry  with 
them  the  force  of  arguments,  and  I  am  sure  that,  after  what 
has  been  said  of  physical  education,  you  are  prepared  to  ad- 
mit that  the  education  of  the  mind  requires,  and  consists  in, 
the  symmetrical  developme7it  and  adequate  discipline  of 
the  mind's  faculties.  In  the  two  words  Development  and 
Discipline  are  contained  all  the  ideas — are  expressed  all  the 


66  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE     OF 

conditions  and  efficiencies  set  forth  in  that  very  complex  and 
very  practical  term,  education.  Both  development  and  dis- 
ciphne  seek  to  obtain  their  proper  results  by  the  same  means 
— by  the  exercise  of  the  mental  faculties.  Yet  do  they  sug- 
gest to  the  mind  ideas  somewhat  dillerent,  and  their  ends  are 
not  identical.  A  com-se  of  training  may  be  very  strenuous  and 
effective  in  its  disciplinary  agency — may  invigorate  special 
faculties  of  the  mind,  and  inure  them  to  toil,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  be  directed  so  unskillfully,  and  operate  so  par- 
tially, as  not  only  to  leave  other  faculties  without  improve- 
ment, but  as  actually  to  dwarf  and  stifle  them  by  the  over- 
laying, exhausting  luxuriance  of  the  pampered  mental  or- 
gan. A  reteiitive  memory,  for  instance,  made  prodigious  by 
exorbitant,  ill-assorted  reading,  is  hardly  ever  found  in  union 
with  good  powers  of  reasoning  or  good  taste.  The  imagin- 
ation, overgrown  and  stimulated  by  undue  and  nearly  ex- 
clusive attention  to  fictitious  literature,  usually  becomes  the 
tyrant  of  the  mind,  while  an  exclusive  and  prolonged  devo- 
tion to  abstruse  studies  very  commonly  impairs  the  powers 
of  fancy.  The  eager  partisan,  who  early  consecrates  him- 
self to  the  care  of  one  idea,  infallibly  acquires  a  habit  of 
muid  more  favorable  to  subtle  disputation  than  to  the  enter- 
tainment of  comprehensive,  manly  views.  These  familiar, 
palpable  examples  illustrate  the  importance  of  a  judicious 
selection  of  the  exercises  which  are  to  become  the  instru- 
ments and  tneclia  of  mental  development  and  discipline. 
They  suggest  to  the  student  and  the  parent  that  the  choice 
of  a  course  of  academical  study  is  a  full  task  for  great  dis- 
cretion and  experience,  and  deep  insight  into  the  nature  and 
wants  of  the  human  mind.  Whoever  confides  the  direction 
of  a  work,  at  once  so  difficult  and  so  momentous,  to  accident, 
to  his  own  unformed,  fitful  tastes  and  tendencies,  or  to  un- 
skillful advisers,  is  not  only  liable  to  great  injury,  but  will 
certainly  render  impossible  to  himself  the  highest  and  best 
intellectual  cultivation.     It  will  be  perceived,  at  a  glance, 


THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES.  57 

that  any  good  method  of  mental  development  must  be  com- 
prehensive, not  only  hi  the  impartial  regards  bestowed  on 
the  several  faculties,  but  also  in  the  various,  well-selected, 
well-proportioned  exercises  which  are  to  be  the  media  and 
instruments  for  the  performance  of  functions  so  delicate  and 
manifold. 

With  these  special  remarks  upon  development,  which  are 
designed  to  be  rather  suggestive  than  to  exhaust  the  subject, 
I  pass  on  to  some  considerations  connected  with  mental  dis- 
cipline. 

It  is  the  study,  the  mental  eflbrts  involved  in  scholastic 
exercises,  and  not  at  all  or  only  in  a  very  inferior  degree,  the 
knowledge  gained  and  retained,  that  disciplines  the  mind. 
The  porter  grows  strong  from  the  frequent  use  of  the  mus- 
cles employed  in  bearing  burdens,  though  he  may  not  retain 
any  of  the  precious  merchandise  that  gives  him  such  invig- 
orating exercise.  Each  of  you  is  probably  acquainted  with 
individuals  whose  minds  are  stored,  or  rather  crammed,  with 
knowledge  of  one  sort  or  other — politics,  history,  theology, 
gossip,  dates,  facts,  anecdotes,  the  accumulation  of  much 
reading  and  hearing,  hoarded  up  by  an  unrelenting  mem- 
ory— all  at  the  disposition  of  an  intellect  so  wanting  in  vigor 
and  judgment  as  to  render  this  crude  mass  of  acquisitions 
utterly  worthless  for  all  the  purposes  of  reason  or  of  action. 
We  may  obtain  still  further  illustration  by  contrasting  this 
class  of  minds  with  another  equally  common,  nearly  desti- 
tute of  general  infomiation,  but  so  well  disciplined  by  a  thor- 
ough training  in  the  sciences  and  the  classics  as  to  be  fully 
prepared  to  leani  and  to  digest  all  knowledge. 

Could  you  suppose  a  well-educated  man  to  be  suddenly 
deprived  of  all  his  acquisitions,  but  under  such  conditions  as 
should  leave  his  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  you  would,  no 
doubt,  have  before  you  a  case  very  deserving  of  sympathy 
for  the  grievous  losses  sustained.  Much  time,  it  may  be, 
will  be  required  to  replenish  the  exhausted  store-house,  and 

C  2 


58  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE     OF 

the  mind  will  feel  deeply  the  pressing  want  of  resources 
which  constitute  its  natural  aliment,  and  the  precious  ma- 
terial which  reason  and  imagination  are  wont  to  mold  into 
so  many  forms  of  truth  and  beauty.  It  will  retain,  however, 
under  the  considerations  supposed,  all  the  essential  advant- 
ages which  education  confers.  The  knowledge  which  has 
been  lost  was  m  part  the  instrument  employed  in  discipHn- 
ing  the  mind,  and  partly  the  fruit  and  acquisition  gamed  by 
such  discipline.  Now  it  is  no  longer  wanted  as  an  instru- 
ment, and  the  well-trained  faculties  are  prepared  to  enter 
upon  a  fresh  career  of  acquisition,  vinder  circumstances  the 
most  favorable  to  rapid  and  eminent  success. 

Such  a  case  as  our  argument  supposes,  seldom,  perhaps 
never,  occurs  in  the  history  of  the  human  mind,  since  the 
obhvion  of  previous  acquisitions  can  usually  result  only  from 
the  disease  or  entire  decay  of  memory.  Something  very 
analogous,  however,  sometimes  happens  to  educated  men, 
who,  after  some  years  spent  in  professional  or  public  life,  are 
found  to  have  nearly  or  wholly  forgotten  the  processes  and 
the  lore  that  gave  occupation  to  their  scholastic  years.  A 
shallow  and  unphilosophical  objection  to  classical  and  scien- 
tific education  is  often  raised  from  this  not  unfrequent  oblivion 
of  early  attainments.  It  is  certainly  a  reproach  to  a  man  of 
liberal  education  to  neglect  and  forget  his  academic  studies, 
and  no  better  method  can  be  devised  for  maintaining  a  high, 
healthful  intellectual  condition  than  a  familiarity  with  these 
best  sources  of  mental  discipline,  continued  amid  all  the 
scenes  of  active  life.  As  an  argument  against  the  usual 
course  of  coUegiate  training,  however,  no  objection  was  ever 
more  preposterous.  The  fact  that  so  many  educated  men, 
in  spite  of  the  indolence  or  the  bad  taste  that  neglects  the 
best  sources  of  their  early  culture,  maintain  distinguished  po- 
sitions in  the  world,  and  other  things  being  equal,  always 
outstrip  their  less  classical  competitors,  demonstrates  the 
superior  excellence  of  their  training,  and  clearly  intimates 


THE     MENTAL     FACULTIES.  t)J 

that  the  real  efficiency  of  education  resides  in  the  mental  dis- 
cipline, and  not  in  the  science  which  was  but  an  incident  or 
an  instrument  of  culture  and  growth. 

I  am  endeavoring  to  remove  all  obscurity  from  what  ap- 
pears to  me  a  very  manifest,  if  not  a  self-evident  truth,  that 
education  consists  wholly  in  unfolding  and  training  the  men- 
tal faculties.  This  is  a  fundamental  proposition,  the  adop- 
tion or  practical  rejection  of  which  will  not  fail  of  exerting 
a  powerful  influence  upon  the  student's  advancement  and 
success.  It  is  one  of  those  fruitful  theoretical  principles  that 
lie  in  immediate  contact  with  the  activities  of  the  daily  life, 
imparting  to  them  their  inspiration,  their  character,  and  their 
efficiency.  It  is  most  needful  for  the  humblest  aspirant  after 
the  benefits  of  education  to  recognize  distinctly  as  the  one 
object  of  all  his  scholastic  exercises  and  efforts  that  culture 
of  the  intellect  which  invites  into  harmonious  manifestation 
and  movement,  and  inures  to  labor,  and  order,  and  good  hab- 
itudes, all  its  manifold  capabilities.  Till  this  true  and  phil- 
osophical theory  has  eflected  a  lodgment,  and  won  an  intelli- 
gent recognition  in  the  student's  mind,  his  own  efforts  are 
likely  to  be  unstable  and  ill  directed,  nor  is  he  prepared  to 
profit  greatly  by  the  instruction  which  profiers  its  aids  only 
in  co-operation  with  his  own  enlightened  endeavors.  Every 
sound  scholastic  maxim  proceeds  upon  this  idea  of  education, 
and  in  the  few  practical  suggestions  which  I  haA'-e  still  to 
propose,  I  can  not  hope  to  produce  any  useful  impression  ex- 
cept upon  minds  already  preoccupied  vs^th  the  settled  con- 
viction that  the  objects  of  academic  pursuits  are  attained  only 
in  so  far  as  the  mental  powers  have  gained  such  enlargement, 
vigor,  and  skill  as  may  best  fit  a  human  being  for  the  whole 
career  that  is  before  him. 

I  am  not  aware  that  the  views  of  education  here  advanced 
ar3  often  called  in  question,  but  all  my  experience  and  ob- 
Bervat:on  have  induced  me  to  conclude  that  upon  a  very  con- 
siderable proportion  of  students  these  views  fail  to  exert  their 


bO  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF 


full  practical  influence.  My  argument  labors,  for  instance, 
to  demonstrate  that  the  unfolding  and  training  of  the  mind's 
faculties  is  the  important  result  to  be  aimed  at  by  the  scho- 
lastic procedure,  that  the  result  is  to  be  sought  as  the  fitting 
end  of  education,  and  that  any  deviation  in  quest  of  more 
special  objects  must  involve  a  loss  of  general  mental  power, 
and  so  interfere  even  with  the  particular  advantage  which 
is  sought  at  the  sacrifice  of  interests  so  much  more  import- 
ant. In  open  defiance  of  this  simple,  wholesome  maxim  it 
is  that  a  number  of  students  in  every  college  class  are  pros- 
ecuting their  studies  with  a  tacit,  perhaps  an  unconscious,  but 
always  a  misleading  reference  to  professional  or  other  objects 
to  which  their  lives  are  to  be  devoted.  One  neglects  Greek 
because  he  is  not  to  be  a  teacher  or  a  theologian.  Another 
reads  Plutarch  and  the  Federahst  when  he  should  study 
Euclid,  because  jurists  and  statesmen  are  likely  to  need  facts 
and  precedents,  and  "Ciceronian  eloquence  rather  than  log- 
arithms. The  embryo  author,  who  devours  magazines,  and 
critical  reviews,  and  newspapers,  and  treasures  up  memora- 
bilia from  new  novels  and  old  poems  and  plays,  often  seems 
to  congratulate  himself  under  the  occasional  inconveniences 
which  neglect  of  more  significant  occupation  must  sometimes 
incur,  that,  at  least,  he  is  guarding  his  imagination  and  genius 
against  imminent  dangers.  I  have  known  not  a  few  earnest 
candidates  for  the  Christian  ministry  fall  into  a  similar  error, 
and  carry  with  them  through  college  a  very  decided  theory, 
which  sometimes  ■v»ent  the  length  of  pleading  conscience  for 
the  neglect  of  certain  branches  of  study  eminently  adapted 
to  discipline  the  mind,  in  favor  of  others  which  were  sup- 
posed to  affiliate  more  nearly  with  their  chosen  profession, 
though  incomparably  less  efficient  for  the  proper  business 
and  fit  ends  of  education. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  over-estimate  the  grievous  mischief 
that  is  done  by  the  practical  adoption  joi  these  educational 
heresies.     A  number  of  students,  I  fear,  labor  habitually  un- 


THE    MENTAL    FACULTIES.  6j 

der  the  paralyzing  influence  of  an  error  so  fundamental  that 
it  must  disturb  the  harmonious  development  of  the  faculties 
with  which  education  is  concerned,  and  often,  perhaps  usu- 
ally, result  either  in  the  premature  abandonment  of  the  scho- 
lastic career,  which  speedily  becomes  impracticable  under 
this  intermeddling  eclecticism,  or  only  postpone  the  catas- 
trophe till  the  stern  pursuits  of  active  professional  life  put 
forth  their  demand  for  measures  of  intellectual  efficiency  de- 
nied to  such  partial,  halting  scholarship.  The  mischiefs  of 
this  preposterous  theory  are  not  a  little  enhanced,  as  well  as 
diffused,  when  it  happens  to  enjoy  the  countenance  and  the 
advocacy  of  one  or  two  students  whose  quick  parts  and  con- 
siderable general  information  enable  them  to  become  fluent 
debaters  and  popular  writers.  With  the  prestige  of  such. 
showy  accomplishments,  they  sometimes  become  oracles  in 
the  midst  of  indolent  admirers,  who  fully  appreciate  the  ge- 
nius who  can  eloquently  as  well  as  practically  demonstrate 
that  the  supposed  connection  between  intellectual  excellence 
and  thorough  mental  discipline  is  an  exploded  fiction  of 
darker  ages,  which,  though  well  enough  for  hoodwinked 
monks,  is  quite  too  bald  a  theory  to  be  palmed  upon  spirited 
young  men  who  are  destined  to  act  a  great  part  in  the  great- 
est of  modern  republics. 

Happy  shall  I  be  if  those  who  hear  me  shall,  on  due  re- 
flection, pronounce  that  the  picture  I  have  drawn  is  drawn 
wholly  from  fancy,  and  that  it  represents  nothing  of  which  the 
reality  has  existed  witliin  the  memory  of  the  existing  scho- 
lastic generation.  Such  a  verdict  would  announce  a  fact 
and  a  reform  over  which  the  friends  of  liberal  education 
might  well  rejoice,  and  an  example  to  provoke  the  wonder 
and  the  emulation  of  all  the  colleges  in  the  land.  It  will, 
indeed,  be  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  institu- 
tions of  learning,  when  the  whole  company  of  ingenuous 
yoimg  men  shall  feel  and  obey  the  true  inspiration  of  their 
position  and  their  courted  destiny — when  no  group  of  idlers 


62  DEVELOPMENT    AND    DISCIPLINE    OF 

or  half-idlers  shall  hover  about  their  threshold,  at  the  com- 
ing of  the  new  recruit,  to  seduce  his  feeble  purposes  and  slen- 
der manliness  with  the  ready  proffer  of  fellowship  and  sym- 
pathy, and  when  not  one  can  be  found  willing  to  lend  to  the 
support  of  so  poor  a  theory  the  influence  derived  either 
from  gifts  or  graces — from  genius  or  from  manners — from 
natural  amiability  or  from  social  position — from  writing  well 
or  speaking  eloquently. 

I  shall  conclude  this  topic  and  this  Lecture  by  a  brief  re- 
mark on  the  course  of  studies  pursued  in  our  American  col- 
leges. It  has  become  almost  fashionable  to  say  of  our  cur- 
riculum that  it  is  substantially  that  of  the  Dark  Ages.  Now 
it  is  unquestionably  true  that  monks  and  schoolmen  learned 
Latin,  which  is  the  one  sohtary  element  of  truth  in  this  reck- 
less statement.  Latin  was  then  the  only  language  known  to 
science,  and  it  constituted,  together  with  the  false  logic  and 
philosophy  of  that  day,  the  sum  of  scholastic  requirements. 
The  branches  of  study  now  prescribed  have,  in  their  kind, 
order,  and  proportions,  a  primary,  and,  I  must  think,  a  wise 
reference  to  mental  discipline.  The  great  prominence  given 
to  linguistic  and  scientific  studies  is  a  well-merited  conces- 
sion, approved  by  all  experience,  to  their  pre-eminent  adap- 
tation to  the  ends  of  development  and  training.  They  occu- 
py an  early  as  well  as  a  considerable  part  of  the  course,  be- 
cause they  best  furnish  the  indispensable  experience  and 
habitudes  which  the  mind  wants  in  order  to  secure  the  best 
fruits  of  the  discursive,  and  speculative  studies  that  are  to 
employ  its  subsequent  labors.  This  course  of  study  is  the 
result  of  a  comprehensive,  protracted  experiment  in  educa- 
tion. It  may  be  regarded  as  the  accumulated  testimony  of 
the  teachers  and  scholars  of  many  enlightened  nations  and 
centuries.  We  do  well  to  observe  that  the  malcontents  un- 
der this  system  do  not  usually  deny  to  it  the  highest  merit 
to  which  it  lays  claim — the  merit  of  being  incomparably  the 
best  system  which  human  genius  and  experience  have  ever 


THE     MENTAL    FACULTIES.  03 


devised  for  the  development  and  discipline  of  the  mental  fac- 
ulties. This,  I  repeat  again  and  again,  is  the  true  philo- 
sophical idea  of  liberal  education.  Between  those  who  em- 
brace this  theory  of  education  and  those  who  so  clamorously 
demand  of  our  colleges,  not  intellectual  culture,  but  only  so 
many  of  the  crude  elements  of  knowledge  as  are  immediate- 
ly applicable  to  the  art  or  craft  to  which  they  hasten,  there 
is  really  no  just  ground  for  controversy.  Their  ideas  of  edu- 
cation are,  indeed,  very  diverse  ;  but  not  more  so  than  their 
objects,  which  are  unlike,  by  the  entire  difference  that  exists 
between  a  scholar  and  an  artisan — between  a  philosopher 
and  a  superintendent  of  farm  or  factory  operations. 


64        THE    BEST     MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OP 


LECTURE  V. 

THE  BEST  MEANS  AND  INSTRUMENTS  OF  MENTAL  DIS- 
CIPLINE. 

Early  intellectual  Habits. — Power  to  modify  and  change  them. — Th« 
Memory. — Concentration  of  Thought. — Improvement  of  the  reason- 
ing Faculties. — The  Study  of  general  Principles. — Illustrations  from 
Chemistry  and  Geology. — The  Mathematics. — The  Languages  of  An- 
tiquity.— New  Sources  of  Satisfaction  thence  arising  to  the  diligent 
Student. — The  attainment  of  a  pui-e  and  elegant  Style. — A  Sugges- 
tion from  personal  Experience. — Efficacy  of  Method  and  oi-derly  Ar- 
rangement.— Objections  answered. —  Laws  of  Association. —  Super- 
ficial Methods  of  Study. —  Thoroughness  of  Investigation  the  only 
Method  of  making  future  Studies  easy  and  pleasant. — Facility  of  Ac- 
quisition not  always  a  test  of  intellectual  Capacity. — What  are  called 
hard  Studies  rather  to  be  prefen-ed. — From  them  the  Mind  deinves 
Strength. —  Discipline  x'ather  than  brilliant  Talents  produces  great 
Men. 

I  SHALL  not  detain  you  with  a  recapitulation  of  the  topics 
dnd  arguments  of  the  last  Lecture.  Its  pervading  idea  was 
substantially  the  same  with  that  which  I  labored  to  establish 
and  enforce  in  all  of  our  previous  discussions.  The  true  the- 
ory of  education,  the  motives  that  should  incite,  the  objects 
that  should  guide  the  student,  his  liabilities,  his  blunders,  his 
incipient  habits,  his  temptations,  his  faults,  in  so  far  as  these 
topics  have  come  under  our  notice,  have  all  been  considered 
in  the  single  aspect  of  their  relation  to  the  development  and 
discipline  which  constitute  education.  The  exhibition  of  this 
fundamental  principle,  in  so  many  points  of  view,  is  fully 
justified  by  its  philosophical  importance  in  the  business  of 
education,  as  well  as  by  the  extreme  difficulty  usually  expe- 
rienced in  procuring  its  practical  adoption  by  the  student. 

Early  as  the  scholastic  career  is  usually  commenced,  the 
student  brings  with  him  to  college  intellectual  habits,  at 


MENTAL     DISCIPLINE.  66 

least  partially  formed,  if  not  fixed,  and  among  the  most  in- 
veterate of  these  is  the  habit  of  performing  the  work  of  men- 
tal culture  as  a  matter  of  routine  rather  than  in  a  spirit  of 
thoughtful  deference  to  the  intellectual  laws  concerned  in 
the  process.  An  attempt,  like  the  one  in  which  I  am  now 
engaged,  to  aid  in  this  work  by  inculcating  the  philosophical 
ideas  according  to  which  it  may  be  most  successfully  con- 
ducted, presupposes  in  the  pupil  the  abihty  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  these  first  principles,  and  to  change  or  modify  the 
habits  which  may  have  sprung  up  through  neglect  or  acci- 
dent, or  with  the  assent  of  a  less  enlightened  theory.  The 
full  and  frank  recognition  of  this  power  of  self-control — the 
manly  assertion  of  this  prerogative  to  mold  and  direct  the 
mind's  capabilities  and  meUorate  its  habitudes,  must,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  precede  the  practical  adoption  of  any  new,  pro- 
founder  views  of  the  scholastic  hfe,  and  must  also  precede  any 
extraordinary  improvements  in  the  student's  career,  whether 
as  the  result  of  his  own  enlightened  convictions  or  as  the  fruit 
of  a  wiser  teaching.  As  a  matter  of  fact  and  experience,  it 
is  unquestionably  true  that  yoimg  persons  do  actually  pos- 
sess, though  perhaps  in  different  degrees,  this  plastic  domin- 
ion over  their  own  mental  faculties.  The  actual  course  and 
practice  of  each  individual  is  silently  impressing  upon  his  in- 
tellect a  special  individual  character  ;  and  as  his  competence 
to  change,  modify,  or  reverse  his  daily  procedure  is  unques- 
tionable, so  also  is  his  ability  to  modify  the  depending  result. 
The  indolence,  the  apathy,  the  irregularity,  the  reckless  in- 
attention under  which  the  intellect  runs  to  waste,  and  sinks 
into  imbecihty,  may,  if  the  victim  of  such  follies  only  wills 
it,  be  substituted  by  the  purpose,  the  self  command,  and  the 
earnest  activity  which  insure  vigor,  perspicacity,  and  enlarge- 
ment. Students  more  distinguished  for  industry,  persever- 
ance, and  energy  of  character  are  proportionably  more  likely 
than  the  class  just  referred  to  to  profit  by  the  inculcation  of 
a  juster  scholastic  theory.     Without  adding  to  the  amount 


66        THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF 

of  intellectual  exertion,  it  may  become  greatly  more  produc- 
tive under  a  more  intelligent,  precise  direction.  The  poAvera 
of  memory,  for  instance,  may  be  stimulated  to  an  extent  that 
will  even  disturb  the  harmonious  development  of  the  other 
mental  faculties,  or  it  may  grow  oblivious  and  untrustworthy, 
very  much  in  accordance  with  the  kind  of  mismanagement 
to  which  it  may  be  subjected  even  by  a  diligent  student. 
Me')7ioriter  recitations,  long  continued,  are  likely  not  only  to 
divorce  the  memory  from  the  higher  faculties  of  the  mind, 
but  to  give  to  it  an  exaggerated  development  inconsistent 
with  their  natural  and  proper  movements.  The  opposite 
fault  of  reading  or  studying  without  positive  systematic  ef- 
fort to  retain  and  recall  the  facts  and  thoughts  which  consti- 
tute the  media  of  the  mind's  activities,  entails  incoherence 
and  confusion  upon  the  slender  recollections  that  spontane- 
ously cling  to  the  mind,  and  at  the  same  time  damage  the 
neglected  faculty  by  inducing  upon  it  an  habitual  tendency 
to  obliviousness.  This  great  evil  may  be  alleviated  or  cor- 
rected by  the  student  who  will  be  at  the  pains  of  habituating 
himself  to  efforts  of  recollection,  who  rigidly  exacts  from  the 
treacherous  faculty  some  good  account  of  what  the  reading  or 
the  lesson  has  supplied.  A  bad  memory  becomes  tolerably 
effective,  and  an  indifferent  one  good,  under  such  a  training, 
continued  till  the  proper  mental  habit  is  established. 

The  vividness  and  permanence  of  impressions  made  upon 
the  mind,  as  well  as  the  facility  and  value  of  its  acquisitions 
depend  very  much  upon  its  powers  of  concentrated,  fixed  at- 
tention. This  is  a  faculty  on  which  even  the  working  stu- 
dent often  bestows  but  little  thought,  though  no  power  of  the 
mind  is  more  susceptible  of  culture  and  improvement.  Man- 
ly aspirations  and  determined  purpose,  admitted  to  an  habit- 
ual sway  over  the  duties  of  the  study  and  the  recitation-room, 
will  not  be  long  in  providing  a  remedy  for  wandering  thoughts, 
and  in  enforcing  an  intellectual  regimen  favorable  to  the  ut- 
most efficiency  and  precision  ;  while  the  daily  lesson,  conned 


.MENTAL     DISCIPLINK.  67 

over  in  the  midst  of  idlers  and  talkers  or  in  somnolent  recum- 
bency, in  periods  of  time  wrested  from  the  more  congenial 
claims  of  sport  or  gossip,  and  impatient  of  the  intrusions  of 
serious  occupation,  becomes  a  daily  lesson  in  the  act  of  per- 
verting and  enfeebling  the  control  which  the  will  of  right  ex 
erts  over  the  intellectual  movement. 

The  improvement  of  the  reasoning  faculties  presents  a 
problem  more  complex,  and  proportionably  less  subject  to  the 
apphcation  of  special  methods  of  procedure.  Their  highest 
efficiency  would  be  found  in  the  best  special  culture  of  all 
the  intellectual  powers.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  for 
students  of  equal  capacity  and  equal  industry  to  be  conduct- 
ed to  very  unequal  results  in  regard  to  this  highest  devel- 
opment of  the  human  intellect.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
filling  up  a  scholastic  career  with  a  busy,  strenuous  activity, 
which  satisfies  several  of  the  conditions  of  education,  and 
grossly  violates  none  of  them,  without,  however,  promoting 
in  an  equal  degree  the  unfolding  and  the  discipline  of  the 
complex  faculties  concerned  in  the  processes  of  reasoning. 
The  method  of  study  most  favorable  to  such  a  result,  while 
it  uses  all  dihgence  in  preparing  for  the  requisitions  of  the 
recitation-room,  aspires  with  no  less  earnestness  to  compre- 
hend the  general  principle  under  which  all  of  the  fragments 
of  knowledge  are  combined  and  harmonized  into  a  system 
and  a  science,  that  alone  gives  a  fair  expression  of  the  val- 
ue and  the  import  of  the  component  parts.  Chemistiy  and 
geology  afford  palpable  illustrations  of  this  remark.  Their 
study  involves  a  multitude  of  particulars  by  no  means  des- 
titute of  individual  interest,  of  which,  however,  tne  true 
meaning  and  philosophical  dignity  do  not  appear  unless  they 
are  contemplated  in  their  relations  to  a  comprehensive  sci- 
ence, which  has  revealed  to  the  world  some  of  the  most 
deeply-interesting  portions  of  its  own  primeval  history.  It  is 
obvious  that,  in  such  studies,  the  inquirer  who  toils  ever  in. 
view  of  the  philosophical  theory  in  which  each  fact  has  ita 


68         THE     BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OP 

explanation,  and  at  the  same  time  ministers  to  a  yet  higher 
significance,  subjects  his  reasoning  faculties  to  an  admirable 
process  of  training,  from  which  nothing  less  can  be  expected 
than  vigorous  growth  and  expanded  capabilities.  The  same 
pursuits,  prosecuted  with  equal  diligence,  but  without  a 
proper  conception  of  their  import  and  bearings,  are  likely  to 
prove  proportionably  less  efficient  as  means  of  intellectual 
discipline. 

Mathematical  studies  afford  another  illustration  of  the 
subject  in  hand  not  less  obvious  and  instructive.  I  am  dis- 
posed to  concede  to  this  science  a  high  place  in  the  scholas- 
tic curriculum  as  a  disciplinary  exercise.  It  begins  in  the 
midst  of  self-evident  propositions,  and  its  pathway  is  rendered 
luminous  by  successive  revelations  of  immutable,  universal 
truth.  Every  step  in  such  investigations  gives  to  the  mind 
the  most  healthful,  invigorating  exercise,  and  familiarity  with 
such  labors  is  likely  to  leave  an  impression  on  the  intellect 
deep  and  permanent,  in  proportion  as  the  effort  is  intense  and 
protracted.  Beyond  this  immediate  influence  upon  the  mind, 
of  which  every  diligent  student  will  partake,  other  and  high- 
er advantages  will,  I  think,  be  secured  by  those  who  recog- 
nize in  the  details  of  each  successive  lesson  the  parts  of  a 
comprehensive  science — who  put  forth  a  constructive  inge- 
nuity to  assign  to  individual  results  their  place  in  the  great 
system  of  truth — who  keep  their  minds  imbued  with  a  sense 
of  the  efficacy  and  the  dignity  of  pursuits  in  which  each  ad- 
vancing step  arms  the  soul. with  fresh  power  over  the  mate- 
rial universe — each  problem  becomes  a  link  in  the  chain  that 
binds  the  Pleiades  and  holds  Saturn  subject  to  the  inquest 
and  the  measurements  of  science.  It  is  precisely  when  the 
most  exact  and  thorough  comprehension  of  each  step  and 
result  of  the  demonstration  is  accompanied  and  stimulated 
by  this  large,  philosophizing  spirit,  that  the  intellect  is  hkely 
to  become  endowed  with  the  richest  fruits  of  scholastic  cul- 
ture. 


MENTAL     DISCIPLINE.        "  69 

There  is  also  a  liberal  and  philosophical  method  of  study- 
ing the  languages  of  antiquity,  which  imbues  the  youthful 
mind  with  a  discipline  very  distinguishable  in  kind  and  de- 
gree from  the  more  usual  results  of  even  a  diligent  and  ear- 
nest devotion  to  such  pursuits.  It  is,  I  think,  no  uncommon 
thing  for  the  student  to  lose  sight  of  the  information,  of 
whatever  sort,  profl'ered  to  him  by  the  classic  page  which 
has  become  the  subject  of  his  critical  analysis,  so  that,  at 
the  end  of  a  term,  he  knows  less  of  the  contents  of  the  book 
which  has  furnished  his  daily  recitation,  than  an  hour's  at- 
tention to  so  much  English  would  bestow  upon  him.  The 
loss  of  knowledge  is  not  the  most  serious  objection  to  such  a 
procedure,  but  rather  the  neglect  of  a  source  of  interest  well 
adapted  to  aid  the  mind  in  its  struggle  after  fixedness  and 
concentration,  and  to  prevent  disgust  and  lassitude  by  giv- 
ing invigorating  and  refreshing  exercises  to  the  faculties. 
The  manifold  allusions  to  the  customs,  institutions,  arts,  and 
ideas  which  prevailed  among  the  most  enlightened  nations 
of  antiquity,  with  which  the  classical  writers  abound,  sug- 
gest an  inexhaustible  store  of  topics  for  reflection  and  com- 
parison, which,  without  abating  any  thing  from  the  lore 
or  the  discipline  which  the  merely  critical  student  derives 
from  the  well-conned  lesson,  offer  to  the  reasoning,  philo- 
sophical student  the  additional  advantage  of  a  most  salutary, 
liberalizing  exercise  for  the  highest  intecllctual  faculties. 
It  is  sufficiently  obvious  that  whoever  will  be  at  the  trouble 
of  prosecuting  this  class  of  studies,  second  to  none  m  their 
efficiency  as  media  of  intellectual  training,  with  a  watchful 
eye  to  their  intimate  instructive  relations  with  history,  phi- 
losophy, ethnology,  and  other  interesting  departments  of  hu- 
man knowledge,  will  speedily  find  the  toil  and  the  friction 
of  dry  analysis,  and  an  endless  appeal  to  the  umpirage  of 
grammar  and  lexicography  alleviated  and  illummated  by  the 
unexpected  discovery  of  so  many  new  sources  of  satisfaction 
and  intelligence, 


70        THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF 

I  may  not  omit  all  notice  of  another  very  simple  expedi- 
ent for  enhancing  the  benefit,  as  well  as  the  pleasure,  of 
classical  studies.  It  is  within  the  competence  of  the  stu- 
dent, in  all  the  stages  of  his  scholastic  progress,  to  make  the 
translation  of  the  daily  lesson  the  best  of  all  exercises  for  the 
attainment  of  a  pure,  elegant  stj'le  in  writing  and  speaking 
his  mother  tongue.  I  have  long  been  persuaded  that  the 
early  adoption  and  vigorous  employment,  throughout  the  scho- 
lastic career,  of  this  easy  method  of  improvement  in  style, 
would  go  far  to  insure  a  highly  respectable  proficiency  in  En- 
glish composition,  independently  of  the  more  formal  teach- 
ings and  exercises  of  that  department.  Such  attempts  at 
improvement  in  one  of  the  best  accomplishments  which  lib- 
eral education  bestows,  made  in  closest  contact  and  commun- 
ion with  the  most  perfect  models,  and  under  the  presiding 
auspices  of  the  noblest  minds  that  Greece  and  Rome  could 
boast,  offer  all  possible  facilities  for  the  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  the  taste,  and  the  best  corrective  of  the  ambitious 
finery  and  exaggerated  rhetoric  to  which  youths  of  quick 
parts  and  fruitful  imaginations  are  wont  to  betray  strong 
tendencies.  To  the  students  who  desire  to  avail  themselves 
of  all  the  sources  of  improvement  within  their  reach,  it  will 
be  a  recommendation  of  the  method  just  proposed  that  it 
will  give  additional  interest  to  the  recitation,  and  enable 
them,  without  any  new  exaction  upon  their  industry,  to  learn 
from  the  performances  of  an  hour  too  often  felt  to  be  unprof- 
itable and  even  burdensome,  a  daily  rhetorical  lesson  of  great 
and  peraianent  value. 

Before  leaving  the  recitation  I  will  make  another  sugges- 
tion well  worthy  of  consideration,  if  I  may  trust  the  testi- 
mony of  my  own  under-graduate  experience.  Much  may  be 
achieved  toward  making  each  lesson  contribute  its  utmost 
to  mental  discipline,  and  to  the  formation  of  philosophical 
habits,  by  giving  to  the  recitations  of  the  class  and  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  teacher  such  heedful  attention  as  shall  be 


MENTAL     DISCIPLINE.  71 

equivalent  to  a  careful  review,  in  which  not  only  may  the 
errors  and  deficiencies  of  private  study  he  corrected,  but  all 
the  parts  and  fragments  of  the  entire  scholastic  exercise  may 
be  molded  into  a  logical  form,  most  fit  to  be  received  by  the 
understanding,  and  preserved  for  future  use  in  the  memory. 
This  habit,  once  thoroughly  estabhshed  and  faithfully  carried 
out  in  the  daily  history  of  four  consecutive  years,  will,  at  the 
termination  of  such  a  career,  be  well  able  to  account  for  what- 
ever difference  may  appear  between  an  ordinary  scholar  and 
a  good  one. 

The  efficacy  of  method  in  getting  the  lesson,  regarded  in 
its  connection  with  the  kind  and  degree  of  mental  discipline 
to  be  derived  from  it,  is  a  consideration  of  still  greater  im- 
portance than  the  manner  of  recitation.  The  preparation 
of  the  study  should  aim,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  furnish  the 
mind  with  an  intelligible  resume,  or  synopsis  of  the  subject 
or  lesson,  sufficiently  comprehensive  to  embrace  every  signif- 
icant fact  or  thought,  all  arranged  in  such  order  as  shall 
exhibit  their  mutual  dependence  and  relations,  and  the  con- 
clusion to  which  they  tend.  This  method  is  especially  ap- 
plicable to  branches  of  study  which  usually  occur  in  the 
later  years  of  the  academic  course,  when  the  mind  is  sup- 
posed- to  be  fitted  for  considerable  efforts  of  understanding 
and  reasoning.  The  recitation  of  a  lesson  thus  thoroughly 
mastered  approaches  the  highest  excellence,  in  whatever  de- 
grees it  is  able  to  make  oral  disclosure  of  the  knowledge  so 
acquired  in  clear,  simple  language,  and  logical  order,  inde- 
pendent of  all  prompting  and  interrogation  beyond  the  teach- 
er's single  suggestive  question,  which  may  be  needful  in  order 
to  put  the  thread  of  discourse  in  the  pupil's  hand.  The  same 
rule  of  study  and  acquisition  is  equally  applicable  to  the  con- 
tents of  each  branch  of  a  general  subject,  and  to  the  entire 
treatise.  Half  the  knowledge  acquired  from  books  is  usual 
ly  lost,  and  the  value  of  the  rest  impaired  in  yet  higher  de- 
grees, from  the  utter  neglect  of  some  orderly,  judicious  ar 


72        THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF 

rangement,  adapted  to  its  preservation  in  the  memory  and 
its  utility  to  the  understanding,  whether  as  a  good  discipline 
of  its  powers,  or  as  the  instrument  of  future  attainments  and 
enjoyments.  I  think  it  may  be  regarded  a  sound,  practical 
maxim,  that  any  book  worth  reading  by  a  student  is  worthy 
of  being  read  with  such  a  degree  of  care  as  will  leave  in  the 
mind  a  connected,  logical  epitome  of  what  it  contains. 

To  the  method  of  acquisition  which  I  have  recommended, 
an  objection  is  likely  to  occur,  to  the  effect  that  it  demands 
an  amount  of  intellectual  effort  of  which  not  many  minds 
are  capable,  and  to  which  fewer  still  are  disposed.  In  reply, 
it  will  be  sufficient  to  state,  that  we  are  inquiring  after  the 
best  means  and  instruments  of  mental  discipline,  which,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  do  not  suppose  any  exaggerated  ac- 
tion of  the  mind,  but  only  that  its  ordinary  efforts  shall  be 
put  forth  in  such  a  direction,  and  with  such  aspirations,  as 
will  tend  gradually  to  establish  the  best  intellectual  habits. 
Such  a  training,  carried  on  to  any  tolerable  degree  of  perfec- 
tion, must  be  the  result  of  many  endeavors,  conducted  under 
such  enlightened  views  of  education  as  shall  at  once  secure 
to  the  mind  a  measure  of  the  advantages  proposed,  and  grad- 
ually prepare  it  for  the  full  reahzation  of  all  that  is  pledged 
by  the  theory. 

It  is  a  great  mistake,  however,  to  conclude  that  industry 
must  take  upon  itself  additional  burdens  in  order  to  fulfill 
these  conditions.  Study  derives  additional  interest,  and  the 
mind  borrows  a  clearer  light  from  the  large,  liberal  philos- 
ophy that  it  is  proposed  shall  preside  over  the  educational 
movement.  To  refer  again  to  classical  studies,  the  various 
sources  of  interest  and  illumination  suggested  as  deserving 
the  student's  regard  are  each  of  them  likely  to  be  helpful 
to  his  progress.  They  shed  mutual  alleviations  and  lights 
upon  each  other,  and  upon  the  entire  subject  of  inquiry  and 
investigation.  They  all  aid  him  in  obtaining  a  comprehen- 
sive acquaintance  with  the  ideas  and  the  life  of  the  age  long 


MENTAL    DISCIPLINE.  73 

by-gone,  in  which  all  the  doubtful  questions  that  beset  his 
inquiries  are  most  likely  to  find  a  satisfactory  solution.  So, 
also,  when  the  student  shall  have  made  some  progress  in  the 
habit  of  thorough  acquisition,  and  of  the  logical  arrange- 
ment and  recollection  which  I  have  recommended,  he  will 
find  tlie  labor,  both  of  learning  and  of  remembering,  not  aug- 
mented, but  greatly  diminished.  Such  a  method  is  adapt- 
ed precisely  to  the  constitution  and  wants  of  the  mind,  which 
is  baffled  by  disorder,  and  swamped  by  a  multitude  of  facts 
and  thoughts  thrown  upon  it  without  perception  or  notifica- 
tion of  the  relations  that  give  them  value  and  significance. 
Once  reduce  this  incomprehensible  chaos  to  a  regular  system, 
in  which  each  subordinate  part  shall  find  its  fit  place  in  the 
harmonious  whole,  and  the  difficulty,  whether  of  learning 
or  of  recollecting,  will  be  no  longer  formidable.  The  mind, 
rejoicing  to  do  its  homage  to  "  Heaven's  first  law,"  easily 
follows  the  "  hccidus  ordd^  through  all  the  intricacies  of  the 
problem  submitted  to  its  sagacity,  while  the  functions  of  mem- 
ory are  almost  superseded  by  the  efficacious  laws  of  associa- 
tion, under  which  each  thought  and  each  train  of  thought 
are  attracted  to  their  fitting  place  by  natural  affinities^  that 
will  guard  them  against  oblivion,  and  hold  them  forthcom- 
ing and  available  in  time  of  need.  It  is,  I  think,  demon- 
strable, that  the  student  who  holds  himself  obliged  to  learn 
every  lesson  critically  and  thoroughly,  and  to  produce  a 
clear,  intelligible  report  of  it  in  the  recitation-room,  will  have 
less  labor  to  perform  on  text-books,  taking  into  account  the 
entire  college  course,  than  others,  who,  without  meaning  to 
incur  the  shame  or  the  guilt  of  disreputable  indolence  and 
neglect,  never  aspire  to  any  high  style  of  scholastic  achieve- 
ments. A  good  mastery  of  the  elementary  principles  of  lan- 
guage or  science,  early  attained,  facilitates  future  acquisi- 
tions. The  mind,  too,  acquires  tone  and  efficiency  of  action 
by  habituating  itself  to  go  with  unquestioning  energy  to  the 
bottom  of  every  investigation,  while  superficial  study  and  the 

D 


74        THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    OF 

habit  of  penetrating  only  so  far  into  a  subject  as  may  serve 
to  conceal  the  grosser  degrees  of  ignorance,  and  secure  guar- 
antees against  egregious  failure  at  examinatiqu,  gradually 
brings  upon  the  mind  a  measure  of  imbecility  and  self-dis- 
tnist  incompatible  with  cfTective  performance.  This  super 
ficial  method  never  grapples  manfully  Vith  dilliculties,  Avhich, 
however  slight  at  first  and  easily  vincible,  become  fixed  ob- 
s;  ructions  in  the  way  of  satisfactory  progress,  over  which  the 
mind  comes  at  length  to  stunTble  on  with  a  sort  of  blind  dex- 
terity, not  uiimingled  with  aAve  at  the  near  proximity  of  mys- 
teries to  it  so  profound  and  incomprehensible.  This  style  of 
scholastic  performance  reminds  us  of  the  degraded  agricul- 
ture which  formerly  prevailed  much  more  than  at  present. 
The  unskillful,  plodding  farmer  went  on  from  year  to  year, 
forcing  a  wretched  tribute  from  his  barren  fields  by  a  rude 
culture  which  barely  stirred  their  surface.  Without  attempt- 
ing to  penetrate  the  reluctant  soil  with  a  deeper  furrow,  and 
to  clear  away,  at  once  and  forever,  all  the  obstacles  to  a  fix- 
cile  agriculture  and  an  abundant  harvest,  he  blunted  hi.s 
plowshare  and  worried  his  cattle  in  a  life-long  struggle 
against  the  same  fixed  or  rolling  stones,  which  a  little  enter- 
prise and  a  vigorous  outlay  of  vernal  and  autumnal  leisure 
might  long  since  have  converted  to  useful  purposes. 

The  real,  ultimate  advantages  of  thoroughness  in  study,  as 
the  sure  and  only  way  of  making  study  easy  and  satisfactory, 
must,  I  flatter  myself,  be  apparent  to  all  who  hear  me,  with- 
out further  argument  or  illustration.  The  importance  of  such 
a  method,  however,  depends  on  yet  higher  considerations. 
The  habit  of  treating  any  subject  of  investigation  slightly, 
and  of  accepting  the  conclusion  of  a  proposition  with  a  hu- 
miliating consciousness  that  the  steps  and  the  force  of  the  ar- 
gument are  not  understood,  must,  in  the  end,  result  in  some 
degree  of  incapacity  to  think  clearly  and  reason  correctly,  and 
the  student  has  every  motive  to  strive  to  the  utmost  against 
this  incipient  fatal  blunder  in  education,  which  can  inspire  a 


MENTAL     DISCIPLINi:.  75 

wish  to  bear  away  from  tlio  arena  of  exercise  and  discipline 
some  adequate  preparation  for  the  reahties  of  professional  or 
public  life.  Whatever  it  may  cost  of  toil,  of  watching,  of 
reiteration  and  review,  it  must  be  a  first  principle  with  the 
student  to  understand  every  thing  as  he  advances.  To  this 
one  position  he  must  hold  with  an  unyielding,  dogged  perse 
verance,  which  no  discouragement,  no  reluctance  to  toil,  no 
self-indulgence  may  be  able  to  relax.  Each  problem  left  un- 
solved, with  a  tacit  admission  that  it  is  too  hard  a  task  for 
the  mental  faculties,  besides  becoming  an  embarrassment  in 
the  way  of  future  progress,  and  impairing  the  bravery  of 
self-reliance,  tends  to  produce  and  establish  the  habit  of  su- 
perficial investigation.  A  standard  of  performance  is  imper- 
ceptibly fixed,  degraded  enough  in  all  reason  and  manliness, 
bvit  which  becomes  a  measure  of  excellence,  below  which  if 
the  student  does  not  frequently  sink  he  is  well  satisfied,  and 
above  which  he  no  longer  aims.  This  fundamental  omis- 
sion, wherever  and  by  whomsoever  made,  it  should  be  a  pri- 
mary object  with  the  student  to  supply.  I  expressed  on  a 
former  occasion,  and  I  here  repeat  the  opinion,  that  every 
sound  mind  is  fully  competent  to  a  mastery  of  all  the  studies 
of  the  academic  course.  The  actual  difficulty,  however  em- 
barrassing, has  grown  out  of  some  previous  omission  or  neg- 
lect, which  diligence  in  the  use  of  leisure  hours  or  of  a  va- 
cation would  soon  remedy.  It  may  be  that  only  a  single 
link  is  wanting  to  the  continuity  and  completeness  of  the 
chain.  The  most  complicated  mathematical  problem  is  hard 
and  unmanageable  only  because  a  very  simple  arithmetical 
or  algebraic  procesis  was  lost  sight  of  in  the  haste  or  the  neg- 
ligence of  the  initiatory  part  of  the  course.  Such  a  revision 
of  the  elements  of  science  or  of  language  as  may  be  accom- 
plished in  a  week,  will  often  illumine  the  whole  subsequent 
scholastic  career. 

Though  every  mind  is  competent,  with  good  application, 
to  understand  th3  studies  of  our  academic  course,  all  do  not 


76        THE    BEST    MEANS    AND    INSTRUMENTS    Of 

acquire  tliem  with  the  same  degree  of  facihty,  and,  what  is 
more  material  to  my  present  purpose,  facihty  of  acquisition 
is  no  accurate  test  of  intellectual  capacity,  or  of  the  advance- 
ment made  in  mental  discipline,  which  is,  according  to  our 
theor}',  synonymous  with  education,  hy  any  given  amount  of 
attainment.  The  best  minds  are  often  wont  to  move  with 
the  greatest  deliberation,  and  to  bestow  both  time  and  care- 
ful examination  upon  the  proposition  which  is  henceforward 
to  remain  deposited  in  its  archives,  as  well-ascertamed,  un- 
questionable truth.  A  quick  memoiy,  on  the  contrary,  will 
sometimes  seize  upon  the  facts  as  well  as  the  reasonings  of 
the  lesson,  and  treasure  them  up  in  its  capacious  store-house 
with  a  marvelous,  unreasoning  rapidity,  incompatible  with  a 
thoughtful  exercise  of  the  higher  mental  faculties,  and  as  lit- 
tle favorable  to  intellectual  discipline.  Discipline,  which,  in 
aU  our  contemplations  of  the  scholastic  life,  must  be  kept  in 
view  as  the  principal  thing,  owes  its  existence  and  its  chief 
improvements  to  what  are  denominated  hard  studies.  To 
the  bad  facility  of  acquisition,  which  wins  its  easy  way  by 
sheer  efforts  of  memory,  it  owes  no  acknowledgments.  It 
is  from  fields  of  toilsome  inquiry,  abounding  in  nice  distinc- 
tions and  disquisitions  and  profound  analyses  — ■  from  fre- 
quent sturdy  conflicts  with  high,  complex  truth,  when  the 
faculties  are  tasked  to  the  utmost,  and  there  is  a  free  de- 
mand for  protracted,  continuous,  intense  efforts  of  attention 
and  thought,  that  the  mind  comes  forth  rejoicing  in  new, 
imperishable  strength.  Every  student  who  aspires  to  intel- 
lectual power  and  distinction  must  be  content  to  struggle 
for  them  in  some  arena  which  will  give  to  his  faculties  full 
and  strenuous  employment.  Hard  rather  than  easy  studies, 
profound  treatises  on  significant  subjects  rather  than  taking, 
flippant  literature,  should  be  preferred  by  those  who  covet 
the  best  gifts.  The  thorough  study  of  Butler's  Analogy,  or 
some  kindred  work,  often  gives  the  mind  an  impulse,  and 
even  a  character,  that  it  never  loses. 


MENTAL    DISCIPLINE.  77 


Were  we  to  take  a  hundred  boys,  of  average  capacity,  from 
the  common  schools,  I  am  persuaded  they  might  all  be  well 
fitted,  by  liberal  education,  to  act  a  useful  and  honorable  part 
in  professional  life.  Education  is  able  to  qualify  any  compe- 
tent mind  for  all  the  duties  to  which  educated  men  are  wont 
to  be  called.  It  is  discipline,  and  not  brilliant  talent,  that 
is  wanted  in  those  positions  where  good  men  do  the  good  that 
is  accomplished  under  the  sun.  An  ordinary  mind,  well 
trained,  is  better  fitted  for  all  the  exigencies  of  life  than  the 
greatest  genius  without  mental  discipline.  Education  pre- 
pares men  to  know  and  to  do  all  that  should  be  known  and 
done  ;  and  the  thorough  discipline  in  which  it  consists,  and 
which  every  sound  intellect  may  attain,  is  usually  of  much 
more  value  to  the  indiAridual  and  to  society,  than  all  the  cov- 
eted natural  endowments  which  none  can  command,  which 
are  sparingly  bestowed  by  heaven,  and  which  do  not  often 
achieve  any  thing  at  all  proportionate  to  the  delusive  prom- 
ise which  so  often  provokes  the  envy  of  those  who  are  intrust- 
ed with  only  a  share  of  that  average  capability  on  the  right 
use  of  which  the  world's  hope  depeads. 


78  OFFENSES    AGAINST    PROPRIETY 


LECTURE  VI. 

OFFENSES  AGAINST  PROPRIETY  AND  GOOD  TASTE. 

A  difBcult  Problem. — Essentials  to  the  efficiency  and  completeness  of 
li.ental  Discipline. — Attention  to  minor  Matters. — Vices  of  Manner 
when  habitual,  difficult  to  eradicate.  —  Vicious  Pronunciation  of 
common  English  Words. — The  Remedy  to  be  applied  in  Youth,  if 
ever. — The  correction  of  Faults  does  not  require  Talent  and  Genius, 
but  Humility  and  Resolution. —  Avvkvvai-dness  of  Attitude  and  Ges- 
tui'e. —  Slang  Phrases. —  Corrupt  Language  leads  to  conniption  of 
Taste. —  Grossness  cultivated  by  the  Student  clings  to  the  Man  in 
after  Life.  —  Self-reforming  Power  the  distinguisliing  Privilege  of 
the  Young. — Labor,  Self-denial,  Patience,  Perseverance  requisite. — 
Analogy  from  the  business  of  the  Gardener. —  Attention  fixed  on 
Things  to  be  avoided  rather  than  on  Things  to  be  acquired. — The 
removal  of  a  Fault  more  important  than  the  acquisition  of  an  Ac- 
complishment.— Simplicity  of  Action. — Unambitious  Style. — Purity 
of  Language. —  Use  of  strong  Epithets. —  Illustrations. —  Effects. — 
False  Rhetoric  leads  to  false  Logic. 

Were  it  required  of  any  one  of  us  to  make  a  full  enumer- 
ation of  all  the  qualifications,  the  results  of  education,  which 
combine  in  furnishing  an  educated  man  with  the  efficiency 
and  momentum  requisite  to  usefulness  and  respectability  in 
a  professional  career,  it  would  be  found,  I  tliink,  on  due  re- 
flection, that  a  problem  had  been  proposed,  very  comprehen- 
sive in  its  import,  and  by  no  means  easy  of  solution.  It  will 
be  agreed  on  all  hands  that  a  young  man,  in  order  to  act  his 
part  well  on  such  a  theatre,  must  go  forth  to  his  work  with 
all  the  advantages  of  a  thorough  intellectual  training,  with 
a  vigorous,  symmetrical  development  of  his  mental  capabil- 
ities, a  graceful,  many-sided  culture,  his  tastes  refined,  his 
imagination  chastened,  and  all  his  aspirations  made  manly 
.•aid  pure  by  their  habitual  subjection  to  the  control  of  pure 
iLud  elevatmg  motives.     All  that  in  my  previous  Lectures  I 


AND    GOOD    TASTE.  79 

have  insisted  on  as  essential  to  the  efficiency  and  complete- 
ness of  mental  discipline,  should  he  his,  to'gether  with  many 
more  intellectual  accomplishments  which  it  has  not  fallen  in 
•with  my  present  design  to  consider,  or  which  inadvertence 
and  the  brevity  imposed  by  our  circumstances  have  led  me 
tx)  omit. 

In  addition  to  this  rather  formidable  list  of  requirements, 
there  are  other  conditions  of  success  hardly  less  imperative, 
for  which  provision  must  also  be  made,  if  ever,  during  the ' 
forming  years  of  academic  life.  It  is,  perhaps,  because  the 
world  is  a  more  competent  judge  of  accomplishments  which 
may  be  easily  acquired  than  it  is  of  higher  and  more  difficult 
attainments,  that  it  exacts  them  with  greater  rigor,  and  toler- 
ates deficiencies  less  indulgently.  The  world  demands,  and, 
I  must  think,  not  unreasonably,  of  those  who  aspire  to  be  its 
teachers,  and  to  be  intrusted  with  the  management  of  its  most 
precious  interests,  a  decent  respect  for  its  good  taste,  and  it 
listens  incredulously  to  high  intellectual  pretensions,  set  forth 
with  clumsy  diction  and  ungainly  gesture.  It  is  usually 
much  more  offended  with  false  syntax  than  with  false  logic, 
and  more  readily  pardons  a  blunder  in  argument  than  a  trip 
in  pronunciation.  Many  a  one  goes  forth  from  academic 
shades  not  inadequately  furnished  with  such  qualifications  as 
diligent  study  and  faithful  teaching  are  able  to  supply,  and 
deficient  only  in  those  which  would  have  cost  him  no  addition- 
al toil  to  swell  the  triumph  of  competitors,  his  inferiors  in  ev- 
ery thing  which  he  has  been  wont  to  regard  as  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  an  intelligent,  educated  man.  We  may  complain 
as  we  will  of  the  injustice  or  the  folly  of  the  world's  awards, 
but  it  must  be  made  much  wiser,  and  must  grow  much  kinder 
than  it  is,  before  its  wounded  self-respect  will  consent  to  toler- 
ate, in  educated  men,  such  habitual  ofienses  against  propriety 
S-xid  good  taste  as  every  schoolboy  is  able  to  detect,  and  which 
it  is  the  shame  of  schoolboys  not  to  have  corrected.  Almost 
any  degree  of  eccentricity  and  imperfection  of  utterance  or 


80  OFFENSES    AGAINST     PROPRIETY 

action  is  allowed  to  men  of  acknowledged  genius  and  great 
reputation,  but,  in  the  great  majority  of  aspirants  for  public 
favor  and  influence,  such  faults  become  frequent  and  efllcient 
causes  of  disheartening,  disreputable  failure.  Most  earnest- 
ly would  I  endeavor  to  impress  upon  those  who  now  hear 
me  my  own  convictions  of  the  great  practical  importance  of 
this  subject.  ^ 

It  is  with  no  slight  mortification  that,  as  the  result  of  my 
'observation  and  experience,  I  must  entertain  very  moderate 
expectations  of  success  in  any  attempt  to  reform  those  vices 
of  manner  which  have  become  habitual,  and  ^vhich  usually 
enjoy  the  privileges  of  asylum  in  the  favor  of  a  sort  of  impe- 
rial indifference,  that,  because  these  are  confusedly  only  pet- 
ty defects,  will  insist  upon  regarding  it  |^very  petty  business 
to  intermeddle  with  them.  The  student  who  makes  a  pas- 
time of  learning  Conic  Sections,  and  calculates  the  sun's 
eclipses  for  a  hundred  years,  baffles  the  efforts  of  aU  his 
teachers  to  keep  his  hands  away  from  his  pockets,  or  the 
skirts  and  button-holes  of  his  coat,  in  his  oratorical  essays. 
The  youth  who  has  gained  a  complete  mastery  over  the  dif- 
ficulties of  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  and  is  above  all 
reproach  in  the  matter  of  dactyls  and  iambics,  continues  to 
maintain  his  own  peculiar  method  of  pronouncing  and  ac- 
centing a  number  of  English  words,  wdth  which  it  is  his  un- 
conscious purpose  to  afflict  fastidious  ears  as  long  as  he  lives. 
He  entered  college,  it  may  be,  a  stanch  2Ja,t-riot.  He  remains 
an  unflinching  pat-riot  throughout  his  four  years  of  trial,  in 
spite  of  all  winning  arts  and  efforts  to  seduce  him  from  his 
sturdy  allegiance  to  the  black-balled  vulgarism,  and  into  the 
wide  world  he  goes  forth  at  last  -with,  pdt-riotisiyi  inscrihedi 
upon  the  banner  which  he  throws  to  the  breeze.  One  of  the 
most  difficult  works  which  a  teacher  is  called  to  perform  is 
often  that  of  eliminating,  from  the  action  or  the  utterance, 
faults  which  a  small  degree  of  attention  and  self-culture 
would  at  once  correct,  but  which,  having  become  habitual, 


AND    GOOD    TASTE. 


no  external  influence  or  skill,  however  faithful  and  prolonged 
their  agency,  can  remedy.  I  have,  in  some  instances,  la- 
bored through  a  series  of  years  to  induce  intelligent,  excel- 
lent students  to  be  sparing  in  their  vocal  performances  of 
such  questionable  peculiarities  as  docs,  and  been  or  ben,  sloth 
and  nothing,  but  with  so  little  success  that  my  well-meant 
efibrts  seemed  to  rouse  up  some  degree  of  resentment,  as  if 
some  design  was  entertained  against  a  cherished  birthright, 
or  some  indignity  meditated  against  the  family  honor.  So 
deeply  and  ineradicably  do  these  depreciating  peccadilloes 
become  imbedded  in  minds  of  a  certam  texture,  that  it  is  not 
more  difficult  to  cure  the  trolling  brogue  of  a  fresh  Connaught 
immigrant  than  it  is  to  correct  the  bald,  vulgar  provincial- 
ism, in  phrase  an4  utterance,  of  a  liberally-educated  man. 

I  dwell  upon  this  topic  at  greater  length  because  I  think 
myself  enabled  to  hope  that  the  discussion  may  be  suggestive 
of  practical  applications,  and  even  of  beneficent  refomtis.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  least  excusable  of  the  delinquen- 
cies chargeable  upon  intelligent,  upright  students,  that  they 
should  mar  the  symmetry  and  impair  the  efficiency  of  their 
education  by  the  toleration  of  petty  faults,  which  a  little 
painstaking  and  resolute  dealing  with  themselves  would 
eradicate  at  once  and  forever. 

Perfection  in  oratory,  as  well  as  in  manners  and  conversa- 
tion, are  dependent  upon  favorable  natural  endowments.  The 
rarity  of  such  gifts  may  very  well  repress  an  unreasonable  am- 
bition, but  it  constitutes  no  ground  for  discouragement,  since 
they  are  not  indispensable  to  eminent  usefulness.  It  may 
be  freely  admitted  that  the  highest  excellence,  which  always 
supposes  an  unusual  combination  of  fortunate  circumstances, 
is  not,  and  can  not  be  generally  attainable.  Gluite  practi- 
cable it  is,  however,  for  the  student  to  eradicate  such  faults  as 
have  just  passed  in  review  before  us,  and  these  are,  in  not  a 
few  instances,  chief  obstacles  to  success.  Graceful  action,  a 
musical  voice,  a  fine  person,  are  not  always  to  be  had  for 

D  2 


82  OFFENSES    AGAINST     PROPRIETY 

M'ooing,  but  ungainly  attitudes  and  gestures,  vicious  intona- 
tions, false  accents  and  emphasis,  are  usually  the  gi'owth  of 
carelessness  and  had  training,  and  they  are  always  vincible, 
at  least  so  far  as  they  constitute  barriers  to  a  useful  outlay 
of  educated  talent. 

It  is  because  I  deem  the  sentiment  not  only  unquestionably 
correct,  but  of  great  practical  importance,  that  I  repeat  the 
opinion  already  expressed,  that  every  young  man  who  enters 
upon  the  work  of  education  with  an  average  outfit  of  the 
mental  and  ])hysical  capabilities  which  belong  to  the  species, 
may  qualify  himself  by  an  intelligent  and  painstaking  cul- 
ture for  usefulness  and  respectability  in  the  pursuits  of  pro- 
fessional and  lettered  life.  He  may  become  a  good  general 
scholar,  and  he  may  become  a  proficient  in  any  branch  of  hu- 
man knowledge  which  interest,  taste,  or  favoring  circum- 
stances may  induce  him  to  pursue.  This  good  endowment 
of  natural  faculties,  and  the  good  training  which  we  have 
supposed,  constitute  the  substratuin  and  the  main  elements 
of  intellectual  character  and  efficiency.  "Without  these  qual 
ifications,  no  human  being  can  exert  any  salutary,  lasting  in- 
fluence in  the  world,  or  achieve  any  thing  worthy  of  being 
held  in  honorable  remembrance.  Possessed  of  these  imj- 
sources,  none  but  the  victim  of  his  own  follies  or  of  an  unre- 
lenting destiny  need  fail  of  acting  a  good  and  manly  part  on 
any  theatre  where  educated  talent  is  the  first  condition  of 
success.  Here  are  the  real  sources  of  intellectual  efficiency 
They  may  be  augmented  and  emblazoned  by  the  rarer  gifts 
of  creative  genius  and  poetic  imagination,  but,  independently 
of  such  brilliant  accompaniments,  they  are  fully  competent 
to  perform  the  tasks  which  human  society  is  accustomed  to 
impose  upon  intelligent,  virtuous  men.  Failures,  when  they 
occiir  under  the  favoring  conditions  here  supposed,  are  always 
the  result  of  indolence,  or  negligence,  or  recklessness,  or  of 
other  causes  implying  still  more  grievous  derelictions  of 
manliness  and  virtue. 


AND    GOOD    TASTE.  83 


I  recur  again  to  the  case  of  the  young,  in  whom  these  good 
natural  endowments,  improved  by  liberal  study,  are  embar- 
rassed and  rendered  partially  inetficient  and  unavailable, by 
petty  defects  or  faults,  which,  being  oflensive  to  the  public 
taste,  provoke  prejudice  and  disgust,  and  so  become  serious 
obstacles  to  usefulness.  It  is  certainly  much  to  be  deplored 
that  so  many  elements  of  success,  the  gift  of  bounteous  Na- 
ture, improved  by  so  mucli  painstaking  culture,  should  be 
damaged  and  impeded  in  their  action  by  petty  faults  and 
blemishes,  which,  however  fixed  in  the  habits,  do  not  pene- 
trate below  the  surface  of  the  character.  For  the  encourage-* 
ment  of  those  who  regard  even  the  slightest  improvement  of 
their  means  of  usefulness  a  legitimate  object  of  endeavor,  I 
will  suggest  that  the  eradication  of  the  faults  to  which  our 
attention  is  now  directed  is  a  very  diflerenl  undertaking  from 
that  of  acquiring  new  accomplishments.  I  think  it  has  be- 
fallen all  of  us,  at  some  time,  or  other,  when  prompted  by 
some  friendly  monitor,  or  by  our  own  sense  of  propriety,  to 
adorn  some  corporeal  or  mental  performance  with  additional 
ease  and  grace,  to  feel  that  a  most  indefinite,  intangible  ob- 
ject has  been  proposed,  difficult  to  be  realized  even  in  con- 
ception, and  grievously  difficult  to  be  embodied  in  action. 
We  may  be  painfully  conscious  of  the  deficiency,  and  yet  ut- 
terly unfurnished  with  the  ideas  and  the  taste  which  would 
enable  us  to  supply  it.  Now  the  correction  of  faults  is  for- 
tunately a  more  positive  and  tangible  business.  The  demand 
is  not  for  the  skill  and  the  genius  that  can  model  and  create, 
but  for  the  humility  that  will  be  taught,  and  the  resolution 
that  will  root  up  and  ostracize.  If  our  friends  are  so  foolish 
as  to  ignore  or  conceal  our  faults,  we  shall  probably  find 
more  frankness,  and  more  real  friendship,  in  rivals  and  ene- 
mies, in  whom  the  critical  organ  is  wont  to  be  fully  developed. 

Whoever  is  desirous  of  correcting  such  faults  as  are  the 
subject  of  our  present  consideration,  need  be  at  no  loss  for  the 
requisite  illumination.     If  there  is  first  a  willing  mind,  there 


84  OFFENSES    AGAINST    PROPRIETY 

will  be  no  lack  of  either  lights  or  helps.  The  chief  obstacles 
to  success  in  such  an  attempt  are  to  be  encountered  in  the  be- 
ginning, and  they  will  usually  be  found  to  exist  in  the  very 
slight  importance  attached  to  such  reforms,  or  in  the  false 
pride  that  thinks  it  a  degradation  to  make  an  improvement 
which  is  deemed  equivalent  to  confessing  an  imperfection. 
Let  us  suppose  that  an  earnest  experiment  is  to  be  made  upon 
the  written  and  spoken  language,  with  the  intention  of  rid- 
ding it  of  aU  errors  and  inelegancies,  and  of  cultivating  a 
style  both  for  conversation  and  for  more  formal  occasions, 
which  shall  never  offend  a  refined  ear.  The  scholastic  ex- 
ercises in  speaking  and  composition  always  aflbrd  many  more 
suggestions  on  this  subject  than  are  usually  heeded,  and  I 
must  think  that  any  student  really  anxious  for  improvement 
may  so  far  profit  by  such  exhibitions,  and  by  the  criticisms 
vhey  are  wont  to  call  forth,  as  to  cure  eflectvially  all  the  er- 
rors which  most  frequently  occur.  This  remark  applies  both 
to  action  and  to  utterance,  and  it  seems  to  me  very  obvious 
that  nothing  but  indifference  to  the  subject  can  perpetuate 
faults  in  attitude,  gesture,  and  pronunciation,  which  are  strik- 
ingly at  variance  with  good  taste  and  established  princi- 
ples. It  will  prove  a  more  arduous,  though  seldom  a  fruit- 
less undertaking,  to  extend  this  unsparing  reform  to  other  oc- 
casions, not  comprehended  in  the  teacher's  domain,  which, 
however,  often  become  chief  sources  of  a  corrupting  influence 
upon  language  and  taste.  Forms  of  expression  are  constant- 
ly working  their  way  into  currency  in  the  thoughtless  inter- 
course of  young  men,  recognized  at  first  as  vulgar  slang,  and 
tolerated  only  for  their  grotesque,  absurd  extravagance,  which, 
in  the  usurping  spirit  that  belongs  to  such  vices,  gradually 
impress  their  complexion  upon  the  colloquial  style,  of  which 
they  become  the  chief  staple.  Once  habitual,  this  style  en- 
croaches upon  the  properties  of  more  serious  occasions,  and 
the  hopeful  imitator  of  Jack  Downing  and  Davy  Crockett, 
who  is  the  envied  centre  of  merriment  in  his  own  laugh 


AND    GOOD    TASTE.  85 


ing  circle,  becomes  its  unconscious  subject  in  the  drawing- 
room. 

From  corruption  in  language  there  is  only  a  brief  step  to 
corruption  of  taste  ;  and  I  never  listen  to  a  sparkling  genius 
of  this  particular  type,  fluent  in  the  savory  diction  of  Sam 
Blick  and  his  compeers,  without  a  painful  conviction  that  he 
has  put  liimself  under  tutors  whose  vulgarizing  influence  it 
will  require  a  great  deal  of  classical  training  to  counteract. 
From  habitual  intimacy  with  such  a  style  of  conversation, 
the  mind  contracts  a  certain  infection,  a  proclivity  to  what 
is  too  low  for  an  educated  man  —  an  appetite  for  a  species 
of  humor  that  is  broad  to  grossness  and  vulgarity,  for  which, 
I  fear,  education  and  the  mature  judgments  of  manhood  will 
never  be  able  to  find  a  perfect  cure.  It  is  for  the  student 
himself,  or  for  no  one,  to  apply  both  prevention  and  remedy. 
He  may  check  the  still  pliant  tendency  before  it  ossifies  into 
habit.  He  may,  perhaps,  expel  the  virus  before  the  constitu- 
tion is  tainted  with  incurable  disease,  but  I  am  compelled  to 
regard  this  as  one  of  the  most  common  sources  of  a  deteriora- 
ting, vulgarizing  influence,  which  so  often  thwarts  and  coun- 
teracts the  natural  tendency  of  hberal  education  to  purify  the 
taste  and  elevate  the  character. 

The  natural  soil  for  this  fantastical  diction,  which  has  no 
recommendation  except  in  its  intrinsic  obscurity,  is  found  in 
the  imeducated,  or  half-uneducated  mind  of  a  large  and  in- 
creasing class  of  young  men,  whose  gregarious  occupations 
create  a  demand  for  the  talent  and  the  material  of  conver- 
sation which  their  low  standard  of  intelligence  is  not  compe- 
tent to  satisfy.  By  them  this  degraded  currency  is  naturally 
welcomed  as  an  easy  substitute  for  the  knowledge,  taste,  and 
wit  ^vith  which  good  cultivation,  if  not  Nature,  has  refused 
to  supply  them.  The  most  exorbitant  forms  of  speech,  in 
doing  violence  to  all  sense  and  reason,  cHng  to  the  memory 
with  the  greater  tenacity.  Their  destitution  of  all  specific, 
intelliofible  meaning  fits  them  all  the  better  to  be  the  medi' 


86        OFFENSES  AGAINST  PROPRIETY 

um  of  a  social  intercourse,  into  which  thought  and  common 
sense  enter  only  in  their  lowest  and  least  appreciable  forms, 
while  in  the  enormous  breadth  of  their  gross  humor  they 
are  well  adapted  to  ears  less  delicate,  if  not  more  elongated, 
than  usually  fall  to  individuals  belonging  to  the  human  spe- 
cies. To  a  careless  observer,  there  is  often  something  enter- 
taining in  listening  to  this  substitute  for  wisdom  and  wit, 
when,  on  the  closing  of  the  work-shops,  it  becomes  vocal 
along  the  side-walks,  and  an  unreflecting  benevolence  would 
as  soon  deprive  these  aspirants  for  the  honors  of  a  gentleman 
of  their  reeking  cigars,  as  these  aspirants  for  the  honors  of  a 
wit  of  the  only  vocabulary  in  which  they  know  how  to  as- 
sert their  pretensions.  This  same  benevolence,  however,  be- 
comes more  thoughtful,  and,  having  some  mission  of  truth,  or 
virtue,  or  religion  to  these  young  men  of  a  strange  language, 
will  not  be  long  in  reaching  a  painful  conviction  that  this 
egregious  gibberish  of  which  it  had  forborne  to  form  any  opin- 
ion more  unfavorable  than  that  it  was  foolish  and  absurd, 
has  really  penetrated  into  the  character.  From  so  often 
standing  in  the  place  of  good  sense,  it  has  finally  supplant- 
ed it.  From  being  the  dialect  in  which  the  mind  is  wont 
to  put  forth  its  most  pretending  essays  in  thought  and  elo- 
quence, it  becomes  the  only  vehicle  on  which  it  feels  compe- 
tent to  embark  its  conceptions.  Low,  ludicrous  associations 
come  at  length  to  attach  themselves  to  the  most  serious  sub- 
jects, and  the  highest  questions  of  morals  and  religion  grad- 
ually lose  all  influence  over  a  mind  habituated  to  contem- 
plate them,  as  it  does  every  thing  else,  in  such  lights  only  as 
may  find  the  most  ready  expression  in  this  debased  and  de- 
basing dialect. 

I  have  bestowed  a  paragraph  upon  a  very  palpable  and 
undignified  error,  as  it  is  developed  in  uneducated  minds, 
because  the  illustration  may  be  more  striking  and  efliectivo. 
The  vitiating  tendencies  in  the  student  guilty  of  a  similar 
folly  will  operate  with  equal  force,  but  areiikely  to  be  par- 


ANDGOODTASTE.  87 

tially  counteracted  by  the  nature  of  his  pursuits.  A  culti- 
vated mind  has  acquired  some  power  to  resist  the  deteriora- 
ting agency,  and  it  finds  a  measure  of  protection  against  the 
contagion  in  the  vigor  and  the  multitude  of  its  own  activi- 
ties. I  should  fail,  however,  of  giving  expression  to  my  set- 
tled conviction,  did  I  not  ascribe  to  the  fault  in  question  a 
very  considerable  as  well  as  baleful  influence  over  the  de- 
velopment of  intellectual  character.  The  tender  plants  of 
taste  and  genius  are  choked  by  these  rank,  overshadowing 
thorns.  The  delicate,  susceptible  mind  gets  a  tinge  ru.-l  a 
bias  ;  the  style  of  thought  an  insidious,  contaminating  infu- 
sion of  ineradicable  grossncss.  I  very  much  doubt  whether 
any  one  who  has  for  a  series  of  years  subjected  his  tastes  to 
the  deteriorating  influences  supposed,  will  ever  after  bcc^  me 
capable  of  that  nice  susceptibility  to  the  finer  proprieties  and 
beauties  of  language,  on  which  the  highest  excellence  in  com- 
position and  oratory  so  much  depend.  So  far  as  I  may  rely 
upon  my  own  recollection  and  observation,  I  can  confidently 
declare  that  I  have  always  seen  the  grossness  which  was 
cultivated  in  the  student  cling  with  inexorable  tenacity  to 
the  man  in  after  life.  No  high  public  position,  no  familiar- 
ity with  polished  society,  no  after  endeavors,  were  able  fully 
to  remove  the  blemish  —  to  purge  the  infection  which  grew 
up  with  the  years  of  academic  life.  They  were  wooed  and 
welcomed  when  the  mind  was  all  plastic  and  susceptible. 
They  are  bound  up  in  its  destiny  by  inevitable  habit. 

The  correction  of  these  petty  faults  and  impertinences, 
which,  together,  often  exert  a  very  appreciable  and  deterio- 
rating influence  upon  the  prospects  and  character  of  educa- 
ted men,  must  be  efiected,  if  effected  at  all,  by  a  vigilant 
self-inspection  and  control,  instituted  during  the  fonning  pe- 
riod of  education,  before  such  habits  have  become  confirmed, 
and  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  an  indomitable  purpose  and  an 
unsparing  faithfulness.  While  nothing  is  to  be  regarded  as 
trivial  or  unimportant  which  may  detract  from  the  highest 


88  OFFENSES    AGAINST    PROPRIETr 

efficiency  of  the  intellect,  or  interfere  in  the  slightest  degree 
with  the  harmonious,  graceful,  perfect  mental  development 
which  it  is  the  business  of  education  to  achieve,  no  obstacle 
should  be  deemed  insuperable,  no  resistance  invincible,  before 
the  indomitable  ameliorating  process  to  which  every  student 
resolved  to  be  a  man  may  triumphantly  subjugate  all  his 
mental  powers  and  habitudes.  The  possession  of  this  self- 
forming  and  self-reforming  poAver  is  the  distinguishing  attri- 
bute and  privilege  of  young  men.  In  the  energy  which 
bravely  asserts  this  high  prerogative,  and  the  indolence  that 
yields  it  up  in  the  face  of  every  difficulty,  reside  the  true 
sources  of  the  honor  and  the  shame  that  are  to  give  their 
complexion  to  the  history  of  manhood.  Unquestionably,  the 
manly  exertion  of  so  high  a  function  will  involve  labor,  and 
self-denial,  and  patience,  and  perseverance  ;  but  all  these  are 
virtues  worth  cultivating  for  their  own  sake.  They  are  'me- 
dia of  the  noblest  disciphne,  and  it  were  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  multiply  our  relations  to  them,  as  the  best  auxiliaries  in 
all  the  enterprises  which  are  likely  to  yield,  either  to  youth 
or  to  manhood,  either  dignity  or  enjoyment. 

It  is  not  well  to  begin  the  work  of  education  and  self-cul- 
ture by  an.  over-careful  study  of  labor-saving  expedients.  He 
who  has  conceived  the  purpose  of  making  of  himself  so  con- 
siderable a  thmg  as  a  inan,  may,  at  the  outset,  lay  his  ac- 
count with  no  trivial  expenditure  of  toil  and  painstaking. 
The  raw  material  of  such  a  fabric  behooves  to  be  passed 
through  refining  processes  ;  and  this  cunning  age,  so  famous 
for  easy  methods  and  shortened  routes,  still  blushes  to  con- 
fess, as  the  result  of  all  its  cherished  theories  and  experi- 
ments, that  the  crowning  improvement  which  is  to  divorce 
wisdom  from  work  exists  only  in  posse.  Even  the  fabulous 
poets,  who  could  transform  flowers  and  butterflies  into 
nymphs  and  goddesses,  never  ventured  to  place  wisdom  any 
where  but  upon  the  loftiest  summits,  inaccessible  to  mortals 
except  by  slow  and  toilsome  steps. 


AND    GOOD     TASTE.  89 

Presuming  the  stmlent  to  have  gained  his  own  cordial  as- 
sent, in  full  view  ofall  the  detail  and  duration  of  the  work 
before  him,  to  the  reformatory  eflbrts  needful  for  thorough, 
comprehensive  self-culture,  I  may  repeat  the  suggestion  that 
his  main  business  will  much  resemble  the  gardener's,  who 
trusts  to  the  well-prepared  soil  for  the  growth  of  sweet  flow- 
ers and  delicious  fruits,  but  labors  dihgently  for  the  eradica- 
tion of  the  noxious  vegetation  that  conceals  their  beauty  and 
listorts  their  proportions.  A  good  mind,  in  the  absence  of 
disturbing  influences,  and  under  judicious  training,  has  a 
spontaneous  tendency  to  symmetrical,  graceful  development. 
Bountiful  Nature  has  sown  the  good  seed,  which  finds  the 
most  favorable  conditions  for  germination  and  growth  in  the 
scholastic  occupations  usually  embraced  in  the  curriculum 
of  hberal  education.  Under  all  ordinary  circumstances,  such 
studies  provide,  in  the  best  way  kiaown  to  modern  science 
and  experience,  for  the  harmonious  manifestation  and  im- 
provement of  the  mental  faculties.  Thus  secure  of  the  more 
tangible  benefits,  by  an  earnest  co-operation  with  the  general 
scholastic  movement,  the  student  is  at  liberty  to  direct  his 
special  solicitudes  to  the  correction  of  faults  and  the  removal 
of  defects,  usually  the  result  of  accidental  causes.  "Whether 
his  attention  shall  be  turned  toward  errors  in  language,  or 
utterance,  or  action,  or  manners,  it  will  be  chiefly  fixed  upon 
things  to  be  avoided  rather  than  on  things  to  be  desired  or  to 
be  done.  In  all  the  changes  that  shall  be  efiected,  it  is  quite 
possible  there  will  not  be  the  positive  addition  of  a  single  ac- 
complishment. In  this  removal,  however,  of  the  faults  and 
the  ungainliness  which  were  most  noticeable,  a  freer  scope 
is  given  for  the  development  and  the  spontaneous  play  of  the 
better  iimate  tendencies,  which  are  constantly  invited  into 
manifestation  by  the  good  general  culture. 

"VYe  may  have  a  great  deal  less  of  gesticulation  under  the 
new  regime  that  proscribes  all  improper  gestures.  The  vo- 
cabulary, which  was  distended  by  much  of  all  the  vulgarism, 


yO  OFFENSES    AGAINST     PROPRiETY 

provincialism,  and  slang  which  the  "West  and  the  East  can 
supply,  will  certainly  be  reduced  in  its  compass  and  copious- 
ness when  nothing  shall  remain  hut  such  a  pure,  simple 
dialect  as  befits  the  mouth  of  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman. 
Something  may,  at  first,  be  lost  to  conscious  dignity  when 
the  cigar  no  more  illuminates  the  evening  promenade  — 
something  to  conscious  ease  in  making  the  descent  from  a 
two  to  a  four-legged  chair.  The  rejection  of  so  much  that 
had  become  customary  and  spontaneous,  will  very  likely  leave, 
at  least,  some  transient  sense  of  a  want.  The  good  nature 
and  the  good  culture,  however,  upon  whose  domain  the  os- 
tracized follies  were  manifest  intruders,  will  be  forthcoming, 
with  their  genial  arts,  to  build  up  the  waste  places  in  forms 
of  new  grace  and  beauty. 

It  may  be  added,  that  the  removal  of  a  fjxult  is  usually 
much  more  important  than  the  acquisition  of  an  accomplish- 
ment. The  attitude  and  the  movement,  which  are  no  longer 
chargeable  with  ungainliness  or  constraint,  have  become  ap- 
propriate and  even  graceful.  Language  and  style,  purged  of  - 
the  faults  which  due  attention  to  the  subject  readily  detects, 
are  proper  and  pure,,  and  verge  upon  elegance,  and  now  that 
these  vicious  and  vitiating  elements  are  removed  out  of  the 
way  of  improvement,  study  and  composition,  and  reading  and 
society,  all  contribute  to  an  ever-progressive  refinement  and 
excellence. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  methods  of  corrective  reform 
here  recommended  all  tend  to  simplicity  of  action  and  char- 
acter— to  unambitious  style  of  conversation  and  composition, 
and  to  repose  of  manners — to  the  rejection  of  all  afiectation, 
artifice,  and  exaggeration,  a  condition  of  things  precisely  the 
most  favorable  to  a  free,  full,  truthful  development  of  what- 
ever capabilities  for  good  Nature  has  bestowed.  I  shall 
close  this  Lecture  with  the  suggestion  of  a  deeply  philo- 
sophical argument  in  favor  of  cultivating  simplicity  of  lan- 
guage.    It  has  been  charged,  by  a  distinguished  female  wri- 


AND     GOOD     TASTE.  9] 

ter,  upon  the  young  of  licr  own  sex,  that  they  are  specially 
addicted  to  the  use  oi"  exaggerated  phrases  and  epitliets  in 
conversation,  and  the  practice  is  very  properly  stigmatized  by 
her  as  being  excessively  stupid  and  vulgarizing.  I  do  not 
imagine  that  this  fault  is  confined  to  either  sex,  though  it,  no 
doubt,  prevails  mostly  among  the  young,  and  my  objection  to 
it  goes  somewhat  deeper  than  a  question  of  good  taste.  You 
will  readily  comprehend  the  special  extravagance  which  I 
have  in  view,  as  I  presume  you  all  have,  within  the  circle 
of  your  acquaintance,  a  number  of  exemplifications  of  it. 
Such  persons  are  not  content  with  expressing  with  reasona- 
ble precision  the  idea  or  quality  under  consideration,  but 
would  add  to  its  impressiveness,  and  make  what,  it  may  be, 
is  somewhat  commonplace,  startling  by  the  use  of  strong  epi- 
thets. With  such  persons  slight  imperfections  are  horrid, 
and  slight  inconveniences  liorrible.  They  are  wont  to  be 
filled  with  dreadful  apprehensions,  have  dismal  nights,  and 
au-jul  weather.  Sights  that  awake  little  emotion  in  others, 
are  perfectly  beautiful,  splendid,  magnificent,  or  they  are 
odious,  frightful,  detestable.  Their  promenades  or  visits  are 
perfectly  delightful,  and  their  cherries  'perfectly  delicious. 
One  is  on  the  point  of  congratulating  these  fortunate  people 
on  possessing  several  Iriends  who  are  all  excpuisitely  beau- 
tiful and  perfectly  elegant — the  best,  the  noblest — the  most 
intelligent,  the  most  remarkable  in  some  virtue,  accomplish- 
ment, or  talent  in  the  Avide  world,  but  for  the  fact,  soon  dis- 
closed in  oflsets,  that  they  have  as  many  enemies  equally 
worthy  of  epithets  most  adapted  to  shadow  forth  the  mar- 
velous in  vice,  stupidity,  or  bad  breeding.  Such  practical 
youths  do  not  disapprove  merely — they  hate,  detest,  abom- 
inate. They  are  not  displeased  or  angry,  but  absolutely 
mad.  What  to  others  may  appear  not  quite  celestial,  but, 
as  the  world  goes,  passable  enough,  is,  in  their  vocabulary,  at 
the  very  best,  abominable,  and  very  likely  inferncd.  We 
do  not  stop  to  note  the  gross  violation  of  charity,  and  good 


92  OFFENSES    AGAINST    PROIRIETY 

taste,  and  common  sense  involved  in  such  extravagances,  noi 
of  good  breeding,  which  is  always  offended  by  this  poor  am- 
bition for  the  striking  and  the  unusual.  "We  mark  only  the 
far  higher  offense  against  the  rights  of  the  intellect.  The 
proper  function  of  language  is  the  truthful  expression  of  ideas, 
and  the  more  exactly  it  accomplishes  this  end,  the  more  per- 
fectly does  it  answer  its  fit  and  proper  calling.  The  first, 
the  second,  and  the  third  thing  with  the  student  of  language 
should  be  always  to  use  the  precise  term  which  exhibits,  in 
its  true  form  and  dimensions,  the  intellectual  prototype  of 
which  it  professes  to  make  conveyance  to  the  eyes  and  ears  of 
others.  This  habit  of  accuracy  once  established,  the  thought 
becomes  associative  with  the  most  fit  and  expressive  word, 
and  they  mutually  suggest  each  other,  even  to  the  most  rapid 
speaker  or  writer.  This  unspeakable  advantage  is  forfeited 
by  the  senseless  exaggeration  now  the  subject  of  our  criti- 
cism, and  the  victim  of  so  bald  a  method  of  winning  distinc- 
tion, if  he  chance  to  have  an  idea  to  communicate,  will  prob- 
ably have  to  choose  out  of  a  troop  of  extravagant  epithets 
which  press  in  upon  him  in  his  time  of  need — a  promiscuous 
mob,  subject  to  no  mental  law,  and  all,  probably,  unadapted 
to  his  purpose.  The  thought  and  the  word  have  been  forced 
out  of  their  natural  relations,  and  no  longer  suggest  each 
other. 

Again ;  the  silent  processes  of  thought  are  carried  on  in 
language  which  is  really  as  much  the  medium  of  thinking  as 
it  is  of  expressing  thought.  In  the  words  which  we  employ 
in  conversation  and  writing,  and  in  the  sense  attached  to 
them  in  our  daily  intercourse,  are  our  unuttered  thoughts 
likely  to  enshrine  themselves  in  the  chambers  of  the  mind, 
awaiting,  in  that  precise  combination  with  the  words,  fit  oc- 
casions for  outward  expression.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  how 
the  exaggerated  speaking,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  little 
better  than  habitual  falsehood,  must  introduce  the  same  spu- 
rious element  into  the  thoughts  and  the  reasoning.     The  false 


ANDGOODTASTE.  y3 

rhetoric  becomes  in.  this  way  the  source  of  false  logic,  and 
necessitates  exaggeration  and  confusion  in  the  working  of  the 
mental  powers.  It  is  worth  while  for  the  student  to  medi- 
tate thoughtfully  upon  these  subtle  relations,  and  to  keep 
hiraself  apprised  of  latent  causes  of  miscliief,  which  operate 
all  t'ic  more  effectually  ftr  being  overlooked  or  contemned. 


94  THE     FORMATION     OF 


LECTURE  VII. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER  IN  COLLEGE. 

Nature  and  Power  of  Habit. — Character  widely  different  from  Reputa- 
tion.— It  is  made  up  of  a  Man's  real  Qualities  and  Accomplisbments. 
— Latent  Agencies  incessantly  at  work. — Peculiar  Impressibility  of 
the  youthful  Mind. — Far  more  so  than  that  of  Childhood  or  mature 
Manhood. — Germs  of  Good  and  Evil  rapidly  developed  at  College. — 
Pi'actical  importance  of  the  prudential  Regulations  of  Academic  Life. 
— System  and  Regularity. — Punctuality. — Order. — A  Defense  against 
the  Encroachments  of  Indolence. — Character  modified  by  Associa- 
tions.— Laws  of  Academic  Institutions. — They  are  its  Ideal,  its  Model. 
— Why  they  do  not  always  produce  the  desired  Result. — Young  Men 
are  Free  Agents. 

Throughout  the  brief  course  of  Lectures  of  which  this, 
for  the  present,  at  least,  will  be  the  conclusion,  you  have  not 
failed,  young  gentlemen,  to  recognize  the  presence  of  one  per- 
vading, overruling  idea.  I  adverted  at  the  outset  to  the  na- 
ture and  power  of  habit,  and  to  its  manifold  significant  re- 
lations to  the  business  of  education.  In  discussing  the  mo- 
tives which  exert  an  influence  upon  the  student's  progress  so 
strong  and  characterizing,  I  called  your  attention,  not  to  tran- 
sient impulses  and  vanishing  results,  but  to  such  as  are  per- 
manent, and  as  impress  upon  the  mind  habitual  tendencies 
and  abiding  aptitudes.  Intellectual  discipline,  which  is,  per- 
haps, the  best  definition  of  education,  is  only  another  form 
of  expression  for  the  good  mental  habits  with  which  the  stu- 
dent should  become  endowed  in  the  labors  and  conflicts  of  his 
scholastic  career.  Education  seeks,  throughout  the  long  suc- 
cession of  its  experiments  and  exercises,  to  improve,  to  the  full 
extent  of  their  capabilities,  the  several  faculties  of  the  mind, 
and  it  gives  its  name  to  the  group  of  conservative  habits  to 
which  is  intrusted  the  preservation  of  all  the  precious  fruits 


CHARACTER    IN     COLLEGE.  95 

of  SO  much  protracted,  painstaking  endeavor.  It  was  under 
the  guidance  of  the  same  pervading  idea,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  or  correcting  injurious  habits,  that  I  ad- 
verted to  improprieties  and  petty  oiTenses  againt  good  taste 
or  good  manners,  which  very  intelligent  and  well-educated 
men  sometimes  allow,  by  becoming  habitual,  to  impair  the 
value  and  influence  of  literary  accomplishments. 

Education,  then,  when  spoken  of  as  the  result,  and  not  the 
process  of  intellectual  training,  consists  in  a  certain  number 
of  mental  habits  and  aptitudes,  the  product  of  the  scholastic 
culture.  It  furnishes  most,  but  not  all  of  the  elements  that 
are  combined  in  the  character  of  an  educated  man.  Char- 
acter is  more  comprehensive  than  education,  which  it  em- 
braces, together  with  a  variety  of  ingredients  derived  from 
other  sources.  It  is  the  amount  of  all  the  efficiencies  with 
which  an  educated  man  is  furnished  for  the  discharge  of  his 
duties.  It  is  an  accurate  expression  of  all  his  aptitudes  for 
fulfilling  the  proper  functions  of  an  intelligent  human  being. 
Character,  you  wiU  perceive,  which  is  thus  rnade  up  of  a 
man's  real  qualities  and  accomplishments,  is  widely  difl'erent 
from  reputation,  which  is  but  the  estimate,  often  false  as 
well  as  changeful,  that  is  placed  upon  him  by  the  world. 

All  that  has  been  advanced  in  our  previous  discussions  in 
regard  to  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  scholastic  life,  is 
strictly  applicable  to  the  subject  of  this  concluding  Lecture, 
the  Formatio»  of  Character  in  College.  In  addition  to  the 
teacher's  faithfulness,  and  the  pupil's  diligence,  there  are  oth- 
er agencies,  not  contemplated  or  provided  for  in  the  scholastic 
institute,  which  are  very  powerful,  as  well  as  ever  active  in 
their  operation  upon  the  youthful  community.  The  student, 
during  the  years  of  his  academic  residence,  dw^ells  in  the 
midst  of  modifying,  transforming  influences,  that,  from  many 
unsuspected,  inevitable  sources,  flow  out  upon  him,  and, 
scarcely  less  than  his  own  and  his  teacher's  efforts,  give 
form  and  complexion  to  his  subsequent  history.     Let  us  do- 


96  THE    FORMATION    OF 

vote  the  present  occasion  to  some  brief  consideration  of  these 
latent,  less  tangible  agencies,  which  have  not  fallen  within 
the  range  of  our  pre\dous  discussions. 

It  would  not,  probably,  be  correct  to  affirm,  in  regard  to 
the  period  of  life  usually  spent  in  college,  that  it  is  more  sus- 
ceptible than  any  other  to  modifying  influences.  The  con- 
stitution of  infancy  and  childhood  is,  no  doubt,  still  more  del- 
icate and  impressible,  and  is  wont  to  undergo  greater  and 
more  rapid  changes  under  the  action  of  surrounding  circum- 
stances. Indeed,  it  is  the  very  rapidity  of  such  changes,  and 
the  facility  with  which  they  are  effected  on  a  mental  con- 
dition so  tender  and  flexible,  and  withal  so  prone  to  imita- 
tion, that  protect  the  young  agamst  the  formatioia  of  fixed 
habits  at  a  period  when  they  must  be  destitute  of  the  dis- 
cretion and  experience  that  ought  to.  preside  over  a  process 
so  important.  The  swift  advances  of  childhood  outstrip  the 
growth  of  habits,  and  keep  the  elements  of  mental  character 
in  a  state  of  fusion  and  movement,  incompatible  with  receiv- 
ing or  retaining  any  very  determinate  or  enduring  impres- 
sions. In  this  incapacity  to  take  on  and  preserve  new  and 
permanent  iirtellectual  lineaments,  cliildhood  resembles  mid- 
dle life  and  old  age,  much  more  than  either  of  these  resembles 
the  period  usually  occupied  with  academic  pursuits.  The  in- 
cessant transitions  of  the  one,  and  the  stubborn  immobility  of 
the  other,  are  alike  unfavorable  to  the  formation  and  estab- 
lishment of  permanent  mental  habits.  Bet\^^en  these  two 
points  in  the  mind's  progress  and  history  lies  the  region  of 
fertility,  and  sunshine,  and  showers,  where  culture  is  omnipo- 
tent, and  where,  in  the  absence  of  skillful  culture,  a  luxuriant 
growth,  however  worthless  or  pernicious,  springs  up  unbidden. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  of  a  college  peopled  with  eager 
youth  at  this  eminently  forming  age,  that  it  is  a  very  focus 
of  intense  and  effective  influences.  Independent  of  all  that 
is  taught  and  all  that  is  learned,  causes  are  here  vigorously 
at  work  that  are  sure  to  model  the  character  and  give  it  form 


CHARACTER    IN     COLLEGE.  97 

and  pressure  for  all  future  time.  It  is,  indeed,  the  appoint- 
ed time  of  change,  when  pliable,  impressible  boyhood  gives 
place  to  the  harder  sinew  and  more  rigid  features  of  the 
man.  In  the  family  circle,  amid  the  sympathies  and  safe- 
guards of  home,  where  the  inevitable  transition  may  be  made 
under  conditions  most  favorable  to  benignant  results,  this 
period  of  human  life  is,  above  all  others,  trying  and  decisive 
of  the  destinies  of  the  future.  In  college,  the  blessed  domin- 
ion of  domestic  afiections  is  measurably  suspended  or  super- 
seded, and  the  manifold  ties,  before  so  powerful  to  restrain 
the  waywardness  and  inexperience  of  youth  fi'om  gross  aber- 
rations, usually  fall  into  the  inefficiency  of  enfeebled,  unsus- 
tained  sentiments.  In  this  new,  unsheltered  position,  the  un- 
conscious, unresisting  youth  is  subjected  to  a  multitude  of 
powerful  influences  unknown  to  his  previous  history,  and  un- 
provided for  by  the  maxims  and  habits  in  accordance  with 
which  his  life  has  hitherto  been  conducted.  Yieldmg,  pene- 
trable, plastic,  he  breathes  an  atmosphere  vital  with  trans- 
forming agencies.  Himself  the  overflowing  source  of  an  ir- 
repressible, outgoing  efficiency,  forever  busy  in  modifying  and 
molding  the  character  of  his  associates,  he  is,  at  the  same 
time,  the  very  attractive  centre  of  a  thousand  confluent 
sti'eams,  no  less  potent  and  eager  to  tinge  his  nature  with 
their  own  various  hues  and  properties.  With  natural  tend- 
encies to  transition  and  transformation  so  manifold  and  ur- 
gent, and  under  so  many  circumstances  so  adapted  and  effi- 
cacious, there  must  needs  be  a  rapid  formation  of  character. 
Each  germ  of  good  or  evil  is  hurried  forward  into  a  rapid 
development  by  a  highly-stimulating  process.  It  is  nothing 
that  the  agents  and  subjects  of  this  transforming  process  are 
wholly  unconscious  of  the  revolution  that  is  passing  before 
their  eyes  and  upon  their  own  nature.  This  unconscious- 
ness can  not  retard  the  progress  of  change  when  the  laws  of 
our  being  render  change  inevitable,  and  leave  notliing  to  hu- 
man freedom  but  the  prerogative  of  determining  whether  it 

i: 


98  THE    FOUMATION    OF 


will  be  the  victim  of  these  irresistible  tendencies  or  whether 
it  will  be  their  guide. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  design,  as  you  will  please  observe,  to 
represent  the  powerful  tide  of  influences  which  play  inces- 
santly upon  the  student's  exposed  position,  in  which  his  en- 
tire academic  life  is  immersed,  as  wholly  vicious  and  corrupt- 
ing. Such  a  view  of  the  subject  would  awaken  solicitude, 
and  even  despair,  but  would  not  be  suggestive  of  any  lessons 
of  practical  worth.  It  would  be  unwise,  and  perhaps  dan- 
gerous, to  enter  upon  a  voyage  without  some  acquaintance 
with  the  force  and  situation  of  the  various  currents  to  which 
our  bark  must  be  exposed,  but  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
the  agitations  of  the  sea  may  not  be  weathered  without  dis- 
aster, and  even  be  made  subservient  both  to  safety  and  speed. 
The  delicate  susceptibilities  of  the  youthful  mind,  and  the 
genial  hospitality  with  which  it  throws  wide  open  all  its  por- 
tals, and  proclaims  broad  welcome  to  whatever  visitants  may 
please  to  enter,  are  not  to  be  contemplated  chiefly  as  sources 
of  danger,  but  rather  as  offering  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions for  liberal  culture,  and  the  production  of  fine,  elevated 
character. 

This  plastic,  ductile,  impressible  nature,  with  its  precious 
freight  of  aspirations,  tendencies,  capacities,  and  liabilities, 
is  the  great  central  fact  to  which  all  the  arrangements  and 
appliances  of  education,  and  all  the  efforts  of  self-culture 
,  must  be  adapted  and  directed.  Such  a  reference  Jias  been 
kept  in  view  in  our  previous  discussions  of  college  studies, 
and  of  the  motives,  methods,  and  habits  most  favorable  to 
improvemcirt.  The  minor  arrangement  and  requisitions  con- 
nected with  the  order  and  administration  of  a  place  of  edu- 
cation are  only  Avise  and  salutary  in  proportion  as  they  con- 
sult the  class  of  wants  here  indicated. 

It  is  in  view  of  this  peculiar  impressibility  of  the  youthful 
mind,  and  its  exuberant  tendencies  to  receive  new  habitudes 
and  modifications  from  the  molding  agency  to  which  H  is 


^  CHARACTER    IN    COLLEGE.  99 

exposed,  that  the  prudential  regulations,  and  the  accidental 
circumstances  and  adjuncts  of  academic  life,  assume  a  prac- 
tical importance  very  worthy  to  he  taken  into  our  account 
of  the  causes  that  are  efficient  in  the  formation  of  character. 
The  system  and  regularity  indispensahle  in  the  scholastic 
community,  where  labor  is  co-operative,  and  occasions  for 
concurrent  action  return  with  almost  every  hour,  exert  an 
important  though  indirect  influence,  which  is  likely  to  estab- 
lish habits  of  punctuality  and  order,  of  inestimable  value  in 
every  department  of  either  professional  or  active  life.  This 
methodical  arrangement  of  duties  —  this  precise  apportion- 
ment and  distribution  of  tasks  and  times,  is,  with  a  largo 
class  of  minds,  quite  indispensable  as  a  condition  oi  efficien- 
cy and  success.  A  few  individuals,  rich  in  the  unfailing 
resources  of  constitutional  vivacity  and  enthusiasm,  and  act- 
ing always  in  the  presence  of  the  highest  motives,  are  some- 
times able  to  make  respectable  attainments  in  knowledge, 
and,  what  is  yet  more  rare,  to  keep  up,  amid  the  distracting 
scenes  of  life,  a  good  measure  of  intellectual  activity,  by  such 
desultory  efibrts  as  are  possible  in  the  absence  of  a  judicious 
controlling  plan.  With  the  great  majority,  however,  system, 
Mdiich  implies  at  least  punctuality,  order,  perseverance,  is  a 
prime  necessary  of  intellectual  life,  all  of  whose  movements 
become  embarrassed,  uncertain,  and  feeble  when  they  lack 
the  guidance,  support,  and  facility  always  afforded  by  an  in- 
telligible, judicious,  and  authoritative  2^>'0gra')nme.  , 
Such  U  law  to  five  and  Avork  by,  when  it  has  become  deeply 
rooted  in  the  habits,  becomes  a  chief  element  of  mental  pov.'- 
er.  It  is  a  potent  defense  against  the  encroachments  of  pleas- 
ure and  indolence,  and  provides  a  sanctuary  for  the  perform- 
ance of  intellectual  rites  in  the  midst  of  the  world's  bustle 
and  distractions.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate  the 
great  practical  im.portance  of  cordially  accepting,  and  vigor- 
ously maintaining  through  life,  the  habits  of  order  and  punc- 
tuality, and  of  the  judicious  distribution  of  duties  and  time. 


100  THE    FORMATION    OF 

into  which  it  is  a  spontaneous  tendency  of  the  under-graduate 
career  to  induct  the  student  by  easy  and  scarcely  perceptible 
degi'ees.  Here,  beyond  all  doubt,  resides  the  great  secret  of 
success.  Ordinary  minds,  working  upon  a  _2>>/aw  —  working 
systematically — achieve  wliat,  without  such  helps,  is  utterly 
impossible  to  the  greatest  genius.  In  fact,  great  intellectual 
performances  are  not  often  the  product  of  minds  of  the  best 
natural  gifts.  Such  minds  are  wont  to  be  corrupted  by  fa- 
cility of  acquisition,  and  to  rely  more  upon  special  efforts 
than  upon  persevering  industry.  Science  owes  its  triumphs 
chiefly  to  the  race  of  patient,  plodding  workers,  who  are  con- 
tent to  pay  the  price  of  wisdom,  and  whose  steady,  hfe-long 
progress  in  knowledge  usually  leaves  beliind  the  whole  mul- 
titude of  competitors,  who  so  easily  outstripped  them  at  the 
beginning  of  the  race.  It  is  precisely  this  want  of  the  order- 
ly arrangement  and  strict  punctuality,  and  of  the  mental  in- 
dustry and  mental  activity  which  they  arc  wont  to  conserve 
and  sustain — virtues  which  a  college  residence  tends,  above 
any  other  discipline,  to  establish  —  it  is  precisely  this  want 
that  cripples  the  energies  of  the  majority  of  educated  men, 
and  leaves  them  aground  midway  in  their  career.  It  is  be- 
cause the  educated  physician  follows  no  plan,  and  consecrates 
no  hour  to  study,  that  he  sinks  into  a  mere  man  of  routine 
and  precedents.  It  is  because  the  Christian  minister  has  no 
established  order  in  his  work  that  the  duties  of  the  parish  and 
the  duties  of  the  study  are  forever  in  conflict,  and  that  both 
classes  of  duty  are  in  the  end  neglected.  An  illustration, 
equally  instructive,  might  be  derived  from  every  department 
of  activity  in  which  educated  men  are  wont  to  engage. 

Observe  that  this  eflicient  element  of  character,  than  which 
I  know  of  none  more  indispensable  to  success  in  life,  is  mtre^- 
ly  incidental — not  announced  as  one  of  the  ends  of  scholastic 
arfangements  —  not  thought  of  by  the  pupil,  nor,  it  may  be, 
l)y  tlie  teacher  himself.  As  the  result,  however,  of  this  in- 
cident or  accident — of  this  spontaneous  growth,  we  liave  in 


CHARACTER    IN    COLLEGE.  101 

good  students  one  of  the  most  enduring,  certain  guarantees 
of  future  well-doing,  an  cstahlislied  habit  of  orderly,  prompt, 
vigorous  mental  activity.  I  have  dwelt  upon  this  single  ex- 
ample of  the  results  of  the  scholastic  life,  not  more  because 
of  its  great  practical  importance,  than  as  a  striking  illustra- 
tion of  the  general  efiect  of  the  system  of  public  education. 
Whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  four  years  in  college  are  to  any 
young  man  a  transforming  period.  Diligent,  earnest  stu- 
dents, impelled  by  lofty  incentives  in  their  quest  of  mental 
power  and  resources,  receive  the  new  impress  unconsciously 
in  the  form  of  effective  habits  and  manly  sentiments,  which 
are  at  once  the  fruit,  the  expression,  and  the  conservatories 
of  intellectual  and  moral  progress  and  attainment.  Others, 
less  active  in  their  co-operation  with  the  institutional  move- 
ment, but  still  not  deficient  in  yielding  conformity  to  scholas- 
tic obligations,  are  less  profoundly,  though  not  less  really  and 
permanently,  penetrated  by  the  dominant  molding  influence, 
while  we  can  not  say  in  regard  to  the  still  more  passive  and 
involuntary  subjects  of  such  efficient  agencies,  provided  only 
that  they  keep  clear  of  a  positive  distaste  for  their  position 
and  occupation,  that  they  will  not  derive  considerable  advant- 
ages, as  they  certainly  will  great  and  lasting  changes,  from 
the  literary  atmosphere  and  fellowsliip  of  so  many  scholars. 
The  susceptibility  of  youth,  stimulated  by  new,  exciting  cir- 
cumstances and  associations  —  the  intensity  of  institutional 
life,  acting  directly,  and  daily,  and  hourly  upon  the  intellect, 
and  the  moral  and  social  feehngs,  and  for  so  long  a  period, 
tnu^t  produce  in  all  a  most  observable  as  well  as  an  endu- 
ring modification  of  character. 

It  should  also  be  noticed  that  the  college  can  not  avoid 
this  full  impression  of  itself  upon  its  company  of  plastic  youth. 
If  its  mental  or  moral  tone  is  debased,  and  its  organization 
vicious,  they  must  breathe  its  tainted  atmosphere,  and  can 
not  escape  its  infection.  They  come  hither  to  be  transformed, 
and  the  worst  mstitutions,  no  less  than  the  best,  are  ccmpe- 


102  THE    FORMATION    OF 

tent  to  achieve  the  predestined  metamorphosis.  Indolence, 
relaxed  disciplilie,  superficial  teaching,  and  more  shallow 
learning,  arc  mighty  instruments  in  working  out  this  inevi- 
table, irreversible  revolution  in  the  student's  character  and 
destiny.  There  are,  no  doubt,  essential  diil'erences  between 
the  two  classes  of  agencies  to  which  we  have  referred,  as 
well  as  in  their  results,  but  the  choice  lies  always  between 
the  good  and  the  bad  agencies  and  results,  and  not  between 
either  of  these  and  none  at  all. 

The  fundamental  statutes  of  a  hterary  institution  are  its 
creed.  Its  principles  are  announced  in  its  practical  demands 
upon  the  .student's  industry  and  general  conduct.  Not  to 
require  habitual  diligence  and  punctuality  is  practically  to 
inculcate  the  opposite  vices,  and,  in  many  instances,  really 
to  make  them  parts  of  the  student's  character.  Not  to^ex 
act  attendance  on  morning  and  evening,  and  Sabbath  wor- 
ship, is,  in  the  working  of  a  college  upon  the  youthful  mind, 
little  better  than  the  positive  inculcation  of  the  opposite  and 
anti- Christian  theory.  The  omission  becomes,  under  the 
circumstances  supposed,  not  only  a  negation,  but  a  proscrip- 
tion of  the  omitted  duty,  and  a  virtual  enfoa'cement  of  the 
most  hateful  impiety.  This  is  not  necessarily  the  case  every 
where  and  always,  but  in  the  domestic  and  the  academic 
community — every  where  where  the  young  are  to  be  taught 
and  trained,  it  is  true,  eminently  and  without  qualification. 
Here,  the  truth  that  is  not  inculcated  and  the  virtue  that  is 
not  required,  make  haste  To  become  the  falsehood  that  taints 
and  the  vice  that  stains  the  character.  The  laws  of  a  col- 
lege are,  in  this  view,  its  declaration  of  faith.  They  are  its 
ideal — its  model,  which  seeks  for  a  realization  in  the  student's 
life.  The  best-ordered  and  best-conducted  institution  does, 
.as  a  matter  of  fact  and  experience,  often  fail  in  securing  the 
elevated  aims  contemplated  in  its  theory,  and  the  counteract- 
ing influences  frequently  prove  an  overmatch  for  the  teach- 
er's vigilance  and  untiring  efibrts.      The  college,  however, 


CHARACTER     IN     COLLEGE.  103 

can  never,  under  the  circumstances  supposed,  forfeit  the  hon- 
ors due  to  an  uncompromising  advocacy  of  the  principles  of 
truth  and  righteousness.  Treachery  to  these  would  richly 
merit  the  reproaches  of  lieaveu  and  earth  ;  but  the  least  suc- 
cessful attempts  for  their  realization,  made  in  an  earnest,  un- 
conquerable spirit,  deserves,  and  will  usually  command,  the 
approbation,  not  of  good  men  only,  but  even  of  the  vicious. 

The  parent,  with  the  aid  of  all  the  holy  sentiments  and 
powerful  associations  of  home  for  his  auxiliaries,  is  often 
baffled  in  his  endeavors  to  plant  the  seeds  of  intelligence 
and  virtue  in  his  son.  It  is  just  because  young  men  are  free 
agents,  and  wield  for  themselves,  in  high  independence  of  pa- 
rent and  teacher,  a  controlling  authority  over  the  formation 
of  their  oami  character,  that  so  many  grievous,  shameful  dis- 
comfitures— so  many  heart-rending  catastrophes  darken  the 
history  of  our  institutions  of  learning.  And  yet,  where  will 
you  find  a  place  of  safety — where  a  greater  exemption  from 
the  acknowledged  dangers  that  beset  this  most  exposed  pe- 
riod of  human  existence  ?  The  time  has  come  when,  by  th^ 
unchangeable  law  of  our  being,  and  in  the  arrangements  of 
God's  provideijce,  the  inevitable  transformation  must  l^ve 
place.  The  youth,  hungering  and  thirsting  after  molding 
influences,  must  now  be  filled.  Each  individual  has  his  OAvn 
capacity  for  taking  on  new  forms  and  characteristics,  and  from 
some  source  or  other  the  insatiate  demand  has,  in  these  form- 
ing years,  to  be  supplied. 

It  is  in  such  an  exigency  that  the  educational  institute 
freely  and  lovingly  proffers  its  protecting  statutes  and  its  sal- 
utary inculcations — all  its  paternal  safeguards,  and  its  more 
direct  and  plastic  efficiencies — opens  crystal  fountains,  and 
spreads  out  sumptuous  viands  most  adapted  to  satisfy  all 
mental  and  moral  appetencies.  If  we  must  admit  that  this 
aflluent  provision  for  the  intellectual  and  moral  necessities  of 
the  young — this  concentration  of  beneficent  influences — often 
prove  ineffectual  in  thtir  operation,  just  such  an  admission 


104         THE     FORMATION     OF    C  II  A  E.  A  C  TE  Fv,    ETC. 

is  to  be  made  in  regard  to  the  merciful  provisions  and  ar- 
rangements of  Heaven  itself  for  the  present  and  eternal  well- 
being  of  our  fallen  race.  God  himself  respects  the  freedom 
of  the  human  agent,  and  submits  to  be  baffled  and  thvi^arted 
in  his  efibrts  to  save,  rather  than  do  violence  to  the  funda- 
mental lavv^  which  He  has  impressed  upon  our  being.  The 
efficient  moral  ap'jiliances  ordained  by  the  Great  Father  for 
the  restoration  of  the  fallen  race  even  become  pernicious  and 
destructive — "a  savor  of  death  unto  death" — to  as  many  as 
refuse  a  voluntary  co-operation  with  means  of  recovery  proffer- 
ed to  them  by  the  divine  goodness.  Much  more  may  we  ex- 
pect the  most  strenuous  human  efforts  to  fail  in  their  objects 
when  they  corae  into  conflict  with  a  fundamental  law  of  hu- 
man naturf*. 


Bactaiauvcatc    SDisconrsco. 
I. 

INDISPENSABLE  REQUISITES  FOR  SUCCESS  IN  LIFE 

A  DISCOURSE   TO   THE    GRADUATING  CLASS    OF    THE  \VESLEYAJ>J 
UNIVERSITY.       1844. 

Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober-minded. — Titus,  ii.,  G. 

The  virtue  w^hich  this  text  inculcates  is  not  temperance  in 
animal  indulgences  and  enjoyments,  but  discretion.  The 
young  are  to  be  admonished  to  form  their  plans  of  life  vi^ith 
thoughtful  deliberation,  and  to  subject  their  conduct  to  such 
laws  as  the  common  sense  and  experience  of  the  human  race 
have  developed  and  prescribed.  Young  men  need  such  ad- 
vice. Thpy  are  unavoidably  exposed  to  misleading  influences 
and  to  illusions.  Hitherto  they  have  had  little  or  no  part  in 
affairs.  Their  business  has  been  with  preparation — with  pro- 
lusion, and  disciplinary  exercises,  and  they  often  bring  into 
the  arena  of  real,  earnest  action  and  responsibility,  arms  and 
hearts  strong  and  brave  for  the  struggles  before  them,  while 
they  are  mostly  unfurnished  with  the  maxims  and  the  habits 
which  alone  can  insure  them  against  discomfiture,  and  win 
for  them  the  victor's  crown.  Youth  is  confident  and  san- 
guine, inexperience  is  rash — errors  for  which  God  provides 
an  antidote  in  the  lessons  of  history  and  religion,  if  the  im- 
petuous activity  of  youthful  life  will  have  the  grace  to  listen 
to  His  voice. 

It  is  wortTi  while  for  young  men  to  give  heed  to  these  les- 
sons, for  it  is  to  them  alone  tliey  are  really  valuable.  The 
old  may  learn  them,  must  learn  them,  but  usually  too  late 


106  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 

for  any  high  cud  beyond  that  of  repentance.  Wisdom  is,  in- 
deed, a  graceful  ornament  for  hoary  heads,  but  its  utiUty,  its 
fall  power,  its  crowning  glory,  is  only  made  manifest  in  its 
inion  and  co-operation  with  the  generous  impulses  of  youth 
and  the  ctrenuous  labors  of  manhood.  "  Young  men  exhort 
to  be  sober-minded."  Let  them  pause  on  the  threshold  of 
active  life,  and  consider  well  its  duties  and  demands,  its  lia- 
bilities, and  its  conditions  of  success.  They  owe  it  to  society. 
Young  men  have  a  destiny  to  fulfill.  Not  one  of  them  "  liv- 
eth  to  himself."  Education,  virtue,  civihzation,  the  common 
weal,  lean  upon  them.  They  are  to  be  chief  actors  in  all 
the  great  enterprises  of  their  generation,  and  it  would  be  a 
folly  and  a  crime  to  rush  thoughtles.sly  upon  such  a  theatre. 
Let  "  young  men  be  sober-minded,"  for  they  are  to  be  the 
agents  and  co-workers  with  Divine  Providence  in  all  His 
gracious  and  benevolent  operations,  Avhich  have  time  and  this 
world  for  their  sphere  of  action.  "  I  have  written  to  you, 
young  men,  because  ye  are  strong."  Ye  are  God's  chosen, 
instruments  for  the  promotion  of  His  highest  and  most  mer- 
ciful designs.  "  Be  sober-minded."  E,ise  up  to  a  due  appre- 
ciation of  your  high  calling.  "  Pond(|j'  well  the  paths  of  your 
feet,"  for  you  are  about  to  step  on  holy  ground. 

It  is  obviously  of  the  highest  importance  that  young  mca 
should  begin  their  career  of  active  life  aright.  An  inconsid- 
erable divergency  at  the  outset  must  lead  them  more  and 
more  astray  from  the  path  of  safety  and  success.  Such  an 
error,  however  inconsiderable  in  appearance,  is,  in  its  nature, 
both  fundamental  and  permanent,  and  must  tend  directly 
and  perpetually  to  fetter  and  oppress,  and,  at  least  partially, 
to  neutralize  the  intellectual  and  moral  energies.  Educated 
young  men  have  learned  many  valuable  lessons  in  ethics,  in 
philosophy,  and  in  history,  and  it  will  be  admitted  to  be  the 
most  egregious  folly  to  neglect  these  all  in  practice.  "Why 
study  to  acquire  knowledge — why  labor  so  assiduously — why 
make  sacrifices  in  pursuit  of  attainments  which  are  to  be 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE.  107 


coolly  discarded  and  overlooked  in  the  only  conjuncture  when 
they  can  be  of  any  real  use  ?  Science  i7i  posse  is  worthless, 
or  nearly  so.  Education,  as  knowledge,  is  thus  lost  to  all 
valuable  ends — -as  a  mental  discipline,  it  is  wholly  perverted. 

Let  me,  then,  invite  the  attention  of  the  young  men  before 
me  to  the  exhortation  of  the  text.  Follow  me,  my  dear 
friends,  in  a  brief  discussion  of  this  subject,  and  in  some  ap- 
plications of  it  to  your  own  condition  and  character. 

The  misfortunes  and  miscarriages  of  life  do  not  commonly 
arise  from  a  deficiency  in  native  talent  or  acquii'ements,  or 
from  the  untowardness  of  circumstances.  I  do  not  hesitate 
to  affirm  that  a  liberally  educated  young  man  of  ordinaiy 
capacity  has,  in  this  country  at  least,  all  the  means  neces- 
sary to  insure  usefulness,  respectability,  and  happiness.  So 
extensive  and  pressing  is  the  demand  for  literary  qualifica- 
tions—  so  maiay  and  broad  are  the  fields  open,  outspread  in 
every  direction,  and  white  for  the  harvest,  that  barely  com- 
petent attainments,  provided  they  are  united  with  some  de- 
gree of  energy  of  character — that  they  are  not  marred  by 
great  vices,  or  neutralized  by  some  special  perverseness  of 
intellect  or  temper,  are  morally  certain  of  finding  full  scope 
for  activity,  and  an  abundant  reward.  So  true  is  this,  that 
our  young  men  are  frequently  drawn  away  into  the  arena  of 
busy  life  before  they  have  completed  their  collegiate  course, 
and  our  graduates  are  often  pushed  into  stations  of  high  re- 
sponsibility and  influence  at  a  period  much  earlier  than  pru- 
dence, or  than  their  own  reasonable  wishes,  would  approve. 
So  great  are  the  facilities,  that  dull,  commonplace  minds  oft- 
en succeed  very  well  by  mere  dint  of  industry  and  persever- 
ance, while  young  men  of  better  gifts  almost  never  fail  ex- 
cept through  their  own  fault. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  in  the  face  of  these  decla- 
rations, which  are  as  obviously  as  they  are  historically  true, 
that  failures,  many  grievous  failures  occur.  Our  educated 
young  men,  perhaps,  commonly  fall  below  their  own  stand- 


108  INDISPENSABLE    REQUISITES    FOR 

ards  of  excellence  and  success,  and  often  below  the  reasona- 
ble expectations  of  their  friends,  as  well  as  of  the  demands 
of  the  world.  The  admission  is  certainly  mortifying,  but  it 
need  inflict  no  discouragement  on  ingenuous  minds.  Dis- 
comfitures that  proceed  from  causes  at  once  obvious  and  vin- 
cible are  useful  as  warnings,  and  as  incitements  to  caution, 
and  diligence,  and  strenuous  exertion.  Let  young  men  be 
sober-mmded.  Let  them  thoughtfully  ponder  their  ways,  be 
mindful  of  their  dangers  and  their  duties,  of  their  liabilities 
and  their  capabilities.  Let  them  remember  that  success  is 
an  attribute  neither  of  chance  nor  destiny,  but  the  award  of 
Divine  Providence  to  discretion,  to  virtue,  to  labor.  Educa- 
ted young  men  are  commonly  learned  in  the  truths  which, 
carried  out  into  action,  would  guide  them  to  success  and 
honor,  full  of  unheeded  maxims  that  contain  the  essence  of 
all  practical  wisdom.  Let  them  but  practice  the  lessons  they 
have  learned  so  well.  Let  them  give  earnest  heed  to  the 
teachings  of  experience  and  history.  Let  Divine  philosophy, 
so  often  studied  as  a  task,  now  be  wooed  as  a  guide.  Above 
all,  let  religion  —  hitherto  unacknowledged  and  neglected, 
lauded  or  trampled  on,  or,  it  may  be,  embraced,  yet  never 
half  obeyed — now  be  welcomed  as  a  chief  light  of  the  mind 
and  a  main  element  of  character — as  at  once  the  pledge  and 
the  instrument  of  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  excellence  and 
greatness. 

Let  young  men  be  sober-minded.  Let  them  give  reverent 
heed  to  the  teachings  of  experience  and  history.  These  con- 
stitute the  source  from  which  are  derived  most  of  the  valu- 
able maxims  by  which  wise  men  form  their  characters  and 
conduct  their  affairs.  No  portion  of  that  most  important 
department  of  human  wisdom,  usually  denominated  common 
sense,  was  derived  originally  from  either  instinct  or  reason. 

That  industry,  and  perseverance,  and  order  are  indispensa- 
ble conditions  of  success  in  the  pursuits  of  life,  is  by  no  means 
an  innate  truth,  nor  were  there  any  logical  formulae  or  pro- 


SUCCESS    IN     LIFE.  109 


cesses  by  v/hich  it  could  have  been  demonstrated  anterior  to 
individual  experience.  The  untaught  savage,  ignorant  alike 
of  the  past  and  the  future,  as  he  struggles  blindly  but  might- 
ily Avith  his  unpitying  destiny,  luiconsciously  develops  the 
facts  which,  to  his  more  fortunate  successors,  are  to  be  the 
elements  of  progress  and  civilization.  It  is  only  in  propor- 
tion as  these  results  of  individual  efibrt  are  treasured  up 
and  reverenced  as  fundamental  lav^^s,  that  the  human  race 
advances  in  knowledge  and  happiness.  The  discoveries  of 
each  generation  thus  become  the  inheritance  of  all  that  i'ul- 
loM',  and  each  begins  its  career  from  the  advanced  position 
to  which  all  the  preceding  had  been  able  to  bring  up  their 
improvements  in  the  art  of  living  well  and  wisely.  Of  this 
law  of  progress,  it  is  material  to  my  purpose  to  observe,  tliat 
it  is  generally  followed  by  commuiuties,  and  only  very  sel- 
dom and  imperfectly  by  individuals,  and  hence  it  has  occur- 
red that,  while  many  modern  nations  are  incalculably  in  ad- 
vance of  Greece  and  Rome  in  all  the  elements  of  grandeur, 
and  power,  and  material  enjoyments,  man,  as  an  individual, 
has,  apart  from  the  moral  influences  of  the  Gospel,  made 
comparatively  little  improvement ;  and  were  we  called  on 
for  the  best  specimens  of  humanity,  so  far  as  intellectual  and 
physical  powers  are  concerned,  we  might  be  driven  back  to 
make  our  selection  from  the  compatriots  of  Plato  or  Fabius. 
Nations  obey  the  lessons  of  experience  fully  and  promptly  , 
individuals  are  too  indolent  to  heed,  or  too  proud  to  follow 
them,  and  hence  are  engaged  evermore  in  reproducing  the 
mistakes,  the  follies,  the  vices,  and  the  miseries  of  their  pred- 
ecessors. Each  man  begins  his  career  of  experimenting  for 
himself,  not  where  his  progenitor  left  ofl",  but  where  he  com- 
menced. History  is,  for  the  most  part,  lost  upon  us.  "VYe  will 
not  be  the  wiser  for  the  past.  Every  one  must  learn  for  him- 
self— must  make  his  own  mistakes — must  learn  wisdom  from 
adversity — caution  from  imprudences — temperance  from  ex- 
cesses— industry  from  want  or  from  avarice.     The  error  is  as 


110  INDISPENSABLE    REQUISITES    FOR. 


if  the  chilli  should  disregard  all  the  cautions  of  his  parent  and 
his  nurse,  and  taste  for  himself  of  every  noxious,  bitter  fruit, 
and  every  poisonous  plant — as  if  he  would  plunge  into  the 
flood,  or  the  storm,  or  the  fire,  till,  m  the  end,  he  should  have 
learned  some  of  the  laws  of  Nature  and  of  hfe,  when  he  had 
become  so  marred  and  enfeebled  that  the  knowledge  would  be 
nearly  useless  to  him. 

So  it  is,  little  as  they  think  of  it,  so  it  is  with  many — with 
most  young  men.  They  are  habitually  and  proverbially  un- 
mindful of  the  teachings  of  experience  and  age.  They  are 
prone  to  judge  by  appearances.  They  yield  to  the  seductions 
of  the  present.  The  counsels  of  parental  affection  arc  lost 
upon  deaf  ears.  The  voice  of  the  preacher  and  the  teacher 
will  not  be  heeded.  The  oracles  of  wisdom,  which  sages  have 
reported  as  honored,  are  esteemed  but  as  idle  commonj)laccs, 
of  no  worth  or  adaptation.  A  smart  repartee  or  a  loud  laugh 
shall  often  pass  for  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  profoundest  apo- 
thegm. There  is  often  observed  in  young  persons  a  perverse- 
ness  or  recklessness  of  folly  that  will  not  listen  to  counsel  or 
reproof  They  ivill  not  fear  that  idleness,  bad  company,  dis- 
orderly habits,  incessant  proffigacy,  are  real  dangers,  as  the 
whole  rational  world  pronounces  them,  and  experience  has 
uniformly  shown  them  to  be.  Parents  and  friends  interpose 
with  remonstrances  and  entreaties.  All  is  in  vain,  and  pass- 
es for  so  much  croaking  ;  and  the  youth — full,  it  may  be,  of 
talent  and  high  aspirations,  and  not  devoid  of  many  amiable 
attributes — presses  gayly  and  boldly  on  in  a  career  which 
every  book  he  reads,  and  every  sane  man  he  meets  ten  years 
older  than  himself,  assure  him  must  prove  fatal  to  all  his 
honorable  purposes,  and  to  all  his  chances  of  respectability  or 
success. 

If  young  men  would  be  sober-minded — if  they  would  give 
heed  to  experience — to  friends — to  their  own  common  sense, 
it  were  easy  to  guide  them  unharmed,  through  the  tempta- 
tions and  dangers  that  beset  them.     It  is  not  ignorance— 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE.  Ill 


very  often  it  is  not  depravity,  nor  vicious  habitudes  that  lead 
them  to  ruin.  Witli  their  eyes  open  to  consequences — fully 
instructed  in  all  the  ways  of  duty  and  of  safety — with  the 
holy  maxims  of  wisdom  on  their  lips,  they  move  onward  in 
their  folly  with  utter  indifference  and  recklessness.  Of  all 
the  cases  of  difficulty  with  which,  in  my  professional  duties, 
I  have  been  called  to  deal,  such  as  I  have  described  are  the 
most  hopeless.  It  is  usually  found  impossible  to  break  the- 
spell  or  awake  the  sleeper  ;  and  not  a  few  of  the  most  amia- 
ble and  promising  young  men,  who  have  held  to  me  the  en- 
dearing relation  of  pupils,  have  gone  to  ruin,  not  because  their 
principles  were  unsound,  or  their  passions  strong,  or  their  in- 
tentions bad,  but  only  because  they  would  not  consider — 
would  not  follow  advice  which  they  knew  to  be  good  and 
felt  to  be  kind — ^because,  in  the  recklessness  and  excess  of  the 
unparalleled  folly  to  which  they  fell  victims,  they  would  not 
resolve  to  do  right.  ♦ 

I  will  advert  here  to  an  unsound  and  pernicious  doctrine, 
sanctioned  but  too  often  by  good  men  and  able  writers,  and 
adopted  by  many  young  men  with  an  inconsiderate  levity, 
which  too  frequently  proves  but  the  precursor  of  ruin.  It  is, 
that  no  knowledge  of  life  and  character  is  of  any  real  value 
except  that  which  is  gained  by  our  own  experience.  I  will 
not  stop  to  prove,  for  the  simple  announcement  is  demonstra- 
tion on  this  point,  that  this  sentiment  flatly  contradicts  the 
great  first  principle  of  moral  education,  as  proclaimed  by  Di- 
vine "Wisdom  :  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go, 
and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  It  is  no 
less  at  variance  with  all  the  teachings  of  right  reason  and 
common  sense.  Grant  that  the  experience  of  our  predeces- 
sors does  not  furnish  safe  maxims  to  guide  us  in  the  career 
of  life,  and  there  is,  of  necessity,  an  end  to  all  progress.  Man, 
at  the  end  of  a  thousand  years,  will  stand  where  he  did  a 
thousand  years  ago.  Our  ancestors  have  conferred  nothing 
upon  us — we  shall  bestow  no  boon  upon  our  successors  but 


112  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 

the  doubtful  privilege  of  having  a  part  on  the  theatre  of  life, 
on  which  every  one  is  doomed,  in  his  turn,  to  play  the  savage 
or  the  novice.  I  fear  there  is  little  hope  of  making  these 
general  reasonings  efiective  for  the  admonition  of  those  vi'ho 
most  need  it,  yet  it  is  plain  enough  that,  if  the  young  could 
be  induced  to  yield  a  more  willing  homage  to  the  wisdom  of 
age  and  the  maxims  of  experience,  not  only  might  they  avoid 
the  principal  causes  of  the  mortifications  and  disappointments 
of  youth,  but  they  would  certainly  insure  earlier  and  am- 
pler success,  and  a  vastly  higher  intellectual  and  moral  char- 
acter. 

Now  the  fervor  and  vivacity  of  youth  are  often  wearied  and 
wasted  in  random,  unguided  eflbrts,  more  frequently  in  the 
wrong  direction  than  in  the  right,  and  when,  after  some  years 
of  waywardness,  disappointment  and  shame  may  have  in- 
spired a  better  discretion,  it  is  usually  too  late  fully  to  re- 
trieve the  error.  The  high  impulses  and  buoyant  hopes,  so 
well  adapted  to  insure  eminent  success  and  to  triumph  over 
great  obstacles,  are  no  more.  They  have  been  supplanted  by 
caution,  distrust,  and,  it  maybe,  discouragement.  The  motive 
powers  of  the  soul  are  no  longer  adequate  to  the  greatest 
achievements,  and  tame  mediocrity,  or  something  worse,  is 
henceforth  the  limit  of  all  that  is  possible  to  a  noble  mind, 
formed  by  the  hand  of  God  for  the  higher  spheres  of  action 
and  excellence.  I  lay  this  down  as  a  law  of  our  mental  and 
moral  nature,  subject  to  neither  more  nor  greater  exceptions 
than  other  fundamental  principles.  Every  youth,  during  the 
forming  and  most  important  period  of  his  life,  is  shut  up  to 
this  alternative  :  either  he  must  be  content  to  be  guided  by 
the  experience  and  counsels  of  others,  and  so  gain  the  liberty 
and  the  power  of  directing  his  fresh,  full,  unwasted  energies 
in  a  career  of  early,  valuable  improvement ;  or,  if  he  will 
listen  to  no  counsels  but  his  own,  and  will  work  out  every 
problem  for  himself,  then  he  must  expect  to  miss  the  right 
way  altogether,  or  else  to  reach  it  with  courage  subdued  by 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE.  113 

miscarriages,  and  his  youthful  vigor  exhausted  by  beating 
the  air,  and,  withal,  too  late  for  the  attainment  of  any  distin- 
guished excellence.  Could  we  hut  successfully  inculcate  upon 
the  young  this  one  lesson  of  humility — would  they  only ybZ- 
loiv  the  advice  of  judicious,  teachers,  the  chief  difficulty  of 
tuition  would  be  removed,  and  the  most  fruitful  source  of  re- 
grets and  miscarriages  would  fail.  Education  might  then 
claim,  both  in  its  progress  and  its  results,  something  like  the 
precision  of  a  science,  and  educated  young  men  would  be  bet- 
ter prepared  for  life  at  five-and-twenty  than  they  now  are 
ten  years  later  or  ever. 

I  have  exposed  a  cardinal  error,  that  common  error  of  young 
men  who  are  too  proud  or  too  giddy  to  take  advice.  This, 
perhaps,  is  the  most  usual  cause  of  another  offense  against 
the  sterling  virtue  inculcated  in  our  text,  to  which  I  would 
now  direct  your  thoughts.  Young  men  do  not  sufficiently 
respect  the  laws  of  their  own  nature.  I  will  illustrate  my 
meaning  by  referring  to  the  law  of  habit.  Eveiy  action  and 
every  course  of  action  has  a  two-fold  character  and  import- 
ance. It  is  virtuous  or  vicious  according  to  its  motive,  use- 
ful or  pernicious  according  to  its  eficcts.  Beyond  all  this,  an 
action,  by  frequent  repetition,  produces  and  leaves  a  perma- 
nent effect  upon  the  mind,  such  as  to  modify  and  ultimately 
to  control  its  future  operations.  Tliis  is  habit — a  power 
never  sufficiently  heeded  in  education  by  teacher  or  pupil. 
Both,  however,  are  accustomed  to  recognize  this  superinduced 
condition  of  the  mind,  in  reference  to  its  influence  on  proper- 
ly intellectual  operations,  and  we  have  rules  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  memory,  of  the  attention,  of  the  reasoning  facul- 
ties. The  law  of  habit  has  a  yet  more  important,  though 
less  obvious  influence  over  the  moral  sentiments,  and  that  in 
a  way  to  promote  or  hinder  very  materially  the  chief  ends 
of  intellectual  culture.  The  educated  man  can  only  attain 
these  ends  by  exercismg  influence  over  other  minds.  A  good 
reputation  is  one  indispensable  condition  of  success  in  efforts. 


Ill  INDISPENSABLE    REQUISITES    FOE. 

A  good  character,  which  implies  upright  principles  and  pure 
sentiments,  is  no  less  requisite.  These  are  the  sources  from 
which  all  high  thoughts  and  all  mighty  impulses  proceed. 
A  conscience  void  of  offense  toward  God  and  man — a  heart 
full  of  generous  sympathies  and  lofty  aspirations,  is  the  great 
store-house  of  persuasion  and  eloquence.  In  order  to  any  val- 
uable success  in  the  inculcation  of  our  sentiments  on  others, 
we  must  first  reverence  them  as  pure  and  lofty  oul-selves. 
There  must  he  in  the  inmost  soul  an  idolatry  for  the  true 
and  the  right,  and  no  practical  skill  in  logic  —  no  creative 
imagination,  can  ofier  a  substitute  there.  Kow  immorality 
and  vice,  of  every  kind  and  degree,  not  only  impair,  but,  in 
the  end,  extinguish  this  inward  spiritual  power.  The  vices 
in  which  a  young  man  indulges  impart  their  hue  and  nature 
to  his  soul.  These  essential  attributes  become  a  part  of  his 
moral  constitution.  Low  gratifications  besot  the  mind.  Vul- 
gar associations  degrade  it.  The  taste  soon  becomes  as  coarse 
and  vile  as  the  books  and  the  people  with  whom  we  most 
commune. 

I  am  not  to  speak  here  of  the  guilt  and  the  dishonor  that 
belong  to  such  ofienses,  but  of  their  more  permanent  effects. 
A  stain  is  contracted  by  the  soul — a  disability  is  incurred — 
a  noble  power  is  lost,  to  be  recovered  and  enjoyed  no  more. 
The  sinner  may  repent,  and  God  may  pardon  the  transgres- 
sion, but  the  mind  is  maimed,  and  shall  wear  its  scars  through 
all  time.  There  is  no  vis  medicatrix  of  potency  to  heal  this 
immortal  wound.  O  !  if  I  could  make  appreciable  and  pal- 
pable the  thoughts  I  am  laboring  to  evolve — if  I  could  trans- 
fer to  the  minds  of  my  beloved  hearers  the  deep  convictions 
which  much  observation  and  experience  have  implanted 
deeply  in  my  own,  I  should  esteem  myself  most  fortunate. 
Here,  I  am  sure,  is  one  of  the  most  comnion  hinderances  tc 
eminent  success  in  the  career  of  young  men.  One  may  oft- 
en see  a  student  of  hopeful  intellect,  and  good  dispositions, 
and  aspiring  ambition,  diligent  enough  in  the  work  of  Intel- 


SUCCESS    IN     LIFE.  115 

Icctiial  improvement,  and,  at  the  same  time,  addicted,  to  as- 
sociations and  pleasures  tliat  must  irretrievably  debafee  and 
enfeeble  all  the  energies  and  capabilities  of  his  nature.  It 
is  a  painful  and  a  humiliating  spectacle.  We  can  not  afrirm 
that  the  labor  of  such  a  one  is  all  lost,  but  much  of  it  is  neu- 
trahzed.  Obstacles  to  success  are  needlessly  multiplied. 
Fine  powers  are  tasked  to  httle  purpose  so  long  as  suicidal 
mdiflcrencc  to  the  moral  forces  of  our  nature  is  indulged  in. 
Vulgar  companionship,  coarse  jests,  ribald  books  and  songs, 
sensuality  and  vice,  will  always  prove  an  overmatch  for 
merely  intellectual  safeguards.  The  hours  of  relaxation 
are  no  longer  the  relreshment,  but  the  poison  of  the  weary 
mind. 

I  would  afiectionately  warn  the  aspiring  youth  against 
evils  yet  more  latent,  and  I  might,  perhaps,  say  yet  more 
dangerous.  The  soul  derives  its  character  and  its  tendencies 
still  more  from  its  cherished  thoughts  and  feelings  than  from 
all  external  influences.  That  will  become  a  great  mind  which 
is  in  the  habit  of  revolving  great  thoughts  ;  and  the  young 
man  who  seeks  to  make  the  most  of  himself  must  be  select 
in  the  musings  of  his  solitary  hours  no  less  than  in  his  asso- 
ciates and  his  books.  Those  sentiments  which  find  welcome 
during  these  seasons  of  repose,  not  only  mark,  but  make  the 
real  character  of  the  mind.  He  who  delights  to  commune 
with  low,  impure  thoughts  in  his  chamber,  is,  or  soon  will 
be,  thoroughly  debased  ;  nor  can  all  liberal  studies  and  able 
teaching  supply  an  antidote  for  the  malignant  poison  that 
works  and  spreads  within.  He,  on  the  contrary,  who  nourish- 
es in  secret  an  ardent  love  of  truth,  of  justice,  of  mercy,  and  of 
purity — whose  heart  warms  with  the  thought  of  doing  good 
or  of  suffering  in  a  good  cause — whose  indignation  burns  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  base  action,  or  of  a  selfish,  dishonorable 
motive — who  would  blush  to  plot,  or  perpetrate,  or  counte- 
nance, under  the  hope  or  promise  of  concealment,  a  deed  which 
he  would  be  unwilling  to  meet  before  the  eyes  of  all  men 


116  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 

and  of  God — such  a  young  man  is  treasuring  up  in  his  noble 
bosom  the  resources  of  a  moral  and  intellectual  power,  which, 
in  some  great  day  of  crisis  or  duty,  will  come  forth  in  the  forms 
of  an  overbearing  eloquence  or  influence,  under  which  perse- 
cuted innocence,  or  the  cause  of  truth  or  of  patriotism,  will 
delight  to  seek  shelter. 

I  purposely  avoid,  on  this  occasion,  the  usual  arguments  in 
favor  of  religion  as  the  way  of  salvation.  I  confine  myself 
to  such  considerations  as  appeal  especially  to  young  men  who 
aspire  to  intellectual  eminence  and  usefulness.  Them  I  ex- 
hort to  be  sober-minded,  and  to  consider  the  Gospel  in  its 
adaptations  to  their  special  wants.  I  suppose  that  they  ful- 
ly acknowledge  its  claims  as  a  Divine  revelation.  If  they 
do  this,  they  also  virtually  and  implicitly  acknowledge  it  as 
a  system,  so  far  as  it  goes,  of  unerring  philosophy.  As  God, 
our  Maker,  is  its  author,  it  must  correspond  perfectly  to  that 
other  work  of  His,  the  human  mind.  This  needs  no  proof; 
for  to  all  who  admit  that  both  human  nature  and  religion 
are  from  God,  the  mutual  adaptations  of  the  two  systems  to 
each  other  must  needs  assume  the  authority  of  self-evident 
truths.  It  is  in  this  character  that  I  commend  the  Gospel  to 
young  men.  Its  maxims  for  the  guidance  of  the  conduct,  and 
the  formation  of  the  principles  and  the  culture  of  the  heart, 
are,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  infallibly  correct.  Beyond  all 
doubt  they  must  prove  the  best,  and  whoever  follows  them 
implicitly  must  reach  the  best  results.  How  valuable  such 
a  guide  is  likely  to  prove  to  young  men  in  the  forming  period, 
before  they  have  the  benefit  of  experience,  and  when  they 
are  yet  but  slightly  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  their  own 
nature,  will  be  the  more  obvious  if  we  recall  the  remarks 
made  on  these  two  points  in  the  former  part  of  this  discourse. 
The  pride  and  the  rashness  of  young  men  often  make  advice 
unpalatable  or  useless  ;  but  if  they  -will  take  God's  word  for 
their  counselor,  no  such  objections  can  be  felt.  The  Divine 
teacher  can  not  provoke  jealousy  or  envy,  and  the  proudest 


SUCCESS    IN     LIFE.  117 

spirit  does  honor  to  its  own  nature  when  it  hstens  to  the 
Almighty. 

Again  ;  the  precepts  of  rehgion,  since  God  is  their  author, 
must  necessarily  correspond  with  the  results  of  right  reason 
and  experience,  since  these  are  so  many  conclusions  reached 
in  following  the  laws  which  God  has  ordained.  In  adopting 
religion  for  his  guide,  a  young  man  anticipates  the  light  of 
experience.  In  fulfilling  the  laws  of  Christianity,  he  is  fol- 
lowing out  the  laws  of  his  own  intellectual  nature,  and  this 
without  liahility  to  mistake.  For  high  practical  purposes  he 
has,  even  from  his  boyhood,  the  wisdom  of  gray  hairs,  and  is 
thus  placed  in  precisely  the  most  favorable  position  for  mak- 
ing the  highest  attaiiunents  in  mental  and  moral  excellence. 
He  brings  to  the  work  of  self-culture  all  possible  advantages, 
and  an  exemption  from  all  avoidable  impediments.  He  has 
the  vivacity,  the  ardor,  the  energy,  and  the  courage  of  youth, 
and,  withal,  its  ready  susceptibilities  of  intellect  and  heart, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  he  prosecutes  his  eflbrts  in  the  clear 
light  of  a  faultless  Divine  philosophy,  which  never  gives  ut- 
terance to  a  doubtful  precept,  nor  leads  its  votaries  to  make 
one  false  step. 

The  soundness  of  this  theory  may  be  shown  by  reference 
to  facts.  I  have  already  pointed  out  the  intimate  connection 
between  some  of  the  better  and  higher  objects  of  education 
and  the  moral  sentiments,  and  have  shown  that  there  can  be 
no  eminent  powers  of  persuasion,  or  eloquence,  or  influence 
in  the  absence  of  the  higher  virtues.  If  my  hearers  have  fol- 
lowed me  in  these  reasonings,  many  of  them  have  probably 
felt  that  they  suggested,  without  solving,  a  very  difficult  prob- 
lem in  education.  They  sufficiently  developed  the  import- 
ance of  certain  attributes  without  pointing  out  the  means  of 
their  attaimnent.  I  have  now  reached  the  point  for  making 
that  disclosure.  What  did  I  aver  to  be  the  true  sources  of 
all  high  eloquence  and  influence  ?  A  heart  full  of  pure,  lofty 
pcntimcnts — a  veneration  for  the  pure,  tlie  merciful,  the  up- 


118  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 

right  —  a  tender  sympathy  with  man  and  with  goodness. 
Something  may  doubtless  he  done  toward  the  attainment  of 
these  essential  conditions  of  success  by  a  watchful  and  pains- 
taking mental  culture,  but  religion  ia  their  only  sure  and 
proper  source.  One  of  its  precepts  fulfilled  in  the  heart  and 
the  life  will  do  more  to  make  an  educated  man  truly  eloquent 
than  all  the  dogmas  of  Longinus  or  Cicero.  "Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  is  the  fundamental  principle 
and  the  deep  spring  of  all  the  melting  sympathies  of  high  el- 
oquence. The  soul,  which  religion  has  purified  from  its  gross 
alloy  of  selfishness,  and  sensuality,  and  sin,  is  just  then  pre- 
pared to  enter  into  harmonies  with  whatever  is  ennobling  to 
our  nature.  Spiritual  culture  induces  that  tender,  simple, 
fervent  habit  of  mind  that  is  ever  ready  to  feel  and  to  suffer 
— to  rejoice  at  the  bidding  of  a  good  cause,  and  to  impart  to 
sound  logic  and  graceful  elocution  that  baptism  of  fire,  with- 
out which  there  can  not  be  eloquence,  or  persuasion,  or 
mighty  influence.  I  will  not  affirm  that  there  are  not  gifted 
natures  which  may  attain  to  some  honorable  distinction  in 
this  great  department  of  usefulness  without  piety ;  but  I  fear 
no  contradiction  from  observing,  philosophical  men,  when  I 
affirm  that  religion  is  the  best  resource  for  eloquence.  I  will 
go  farther,  and  say  that  it  is  hardly  possible  for  a  skeptic  or 
an  infidel  to  be  a  true  orator.  He  has  no  part  in  the  might- 
iest sympathies  that  pervade  the  world  of  man.  He  is  iso- 
lated in  the  midst  of  his  species.  He  may  not  touch  the 
holy  chord  that  vibrates  through  all  hearts. 

We  may  announce  it,  then,  as  a  philosophical  truth,  that 
religion  is  directly  and  greatly  promotive  of  high  intellectual 
excellence.  It  nurtures  those  virtues  and  sensibilities  which 
are  strictly  indispensable  to  the  higher  efforts  of  a  cultivated 
nind.  It  relieves  the  soul  of  all  degrading  passions,  appe- 
tites, and  tendencies,  and  calls  it  out  to  an  habitual  contem- 
plation of  the  loftiest  themes,  and  even  inspires  the  best  and 
most  sustaihing  hopes.     Finally,  it  supplies  motives  and  prom- 


SUCCESS     IN     LIFE.  119 


ises  rewards  for  all  right  action  of  sufficient  strength  and  im- 
portance to  awaken  our  greatest  energies  and  guard  us  against 
all  despondency.  In  exact  proportion  as  the  religious  char- 
acter is  developed  in  a  young  man  are  his  intellectual  capa- 
bilities augmented,  so  that  he  who  loves  God  with  all  the 
heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  has  just  attained  a  posi- 
tion where,  ceteris  2'>aribus,  he  is  best  qualified  for  the  higher 
walks  of  philosophy,  eloquence,  and  poetry. 

Believing  my  argument  to  be  conclusive,  and  trusting  to 
the  upright  understanding  of  the  ingenuous  audience  before 
me,  I  venture  to  put  this  question,  not  to  their  consciences, 
but  to  their  common  sense.  Is  it  not  the  extreme  of  folly  to 
reject  from  your  course  of  intellectual  training  influences  so 
benignant  and  so  powerful  ?  Here  is  a  teacher  which  prof- 
fers to  the  inexperienced  youth  all  the  light  of  experience  and 
philosophy,  at  a  season  when  he  can  have  it  from  no  other 
source,  and  when  it  will  be  most  useful  to  him.  What  mind 
that  is  not  insane  will  choose  to  grope  in  darkness  ?  Here 
is  a  discipline  that  strengthens,  and  elevates,  and  enriches- 
the  soul,  and  arms  it  for  all  high  enterprise.  AVhat  wise  man 
will  reject  its  proflered  aid  ?  And  here  I  must  remark  upon 
the  efficiency  of  its  purifying,  disciplinary  processes.  No  res- 
olutions are  so  often  broken — no  aspirations  so  often  prove  to 
be  vain  as  those  by  which  a  young  man  essays  to  cleanse  him- 
self Religion  oilers  for  his  cleansing  more  potent  agencies. 
Its  truths  are  mighty,  its  supports  manifold,  its  rewards  are 
infinite  ;  but  I  now  refer  to  no  indirect  influences.  I  refer  to 
the  great  doctrine  of  spiritual  influences.  The  Holy  Ghost 
is  given,  to  those  who  will  heed  His  voice,  to  be  a  light  and 
a  purifier.  This  is  the  great  fact  iw  experimental  religion. 
This  IS  the  resource  offered  to  young  men  who  are  struggling 
witii  untoward  dispositions  and  low  tendencies.  Here  is  Di- 
vine help.  Here  is  a  provision  through  M'W^h  they  may  re- 
ceive God's  immediate  co-operation.  Will  you  reject  such 
an  auxiliary,  and  prefer  to  struggle  single-handed  with  cue- 


120  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 


mies  which  have  been  so  often  found  an  overmatch  for  you  ? 
I  beseech  you,  young  men,  to  be  sober-mmded.  Act  with 
some  tolerable  discretion ;  give  to  high  interests  some  meas- 
ure of  that  consideration  which  you  habitually  bestow  upon 
the  lowest. 

So  far  I  have  spoken  of  the  Gospel  as  an  agent  and  aux- 
iliary in  intellectual  culture,  and  on  the  views  already  pre- 
sented I  mean  chiefly  to  rest  the  subject.  The  special  ob- 
ject and  the  special  audience  to  which  my  discourse  seeks 
to  adapt  itself,  will  justify  this  course  in  the  sight  of  aU 
thoughtful  hearers.  Yet  I  must  not  part  with  an  assembly, 
many  of  whom  I  shall  never  address  again,  without  some 
words  of  a  more  strictly  religious  application.  I  must  re- 
mind these  young  men,  not  of  the  incidental  and  more 
worldly  uses  of  religion,  but  that  it  is  God's  only  way  of  sav- 
ing sinners  —  that  men  who  do  not  become  Christians  go  to 
hell.  And  here  I  can  not  but  feel  that  I  touch  upon  what 
is  practically  the  weakest  point  in  my  argument.  How  oft- 
en and  how  vainly  have  I  besought  those  who  hear  me  to-day 
"to  be  sober-minded" — to  show  themselves,  at  least,  men  of 
common  sense  —  to  give  to  their  souls  the  benefit  of  those 
prudential  maxims  which  it  is  held  shameful  in  a  man  not 
to  employ  about  all  the  most  trivial  and  transient  interests 
of  life.  Our  argument  here,  though  practically  weak,  is  so 
only  because  of  its  overwhelming,  in-esistible  power.  The 
minds  of  men  become  habituated  to  bow  instinctively  to  it — 
to  concede  all  that  religion  claims  at  the  first  mention  of  the 
subject,  and  then  to  act,  and  to  be,  precisely  as  they  would 
if  the  Gospel  were  demonstrably  false.  The  human  mind 
IS  content  to  dwell  in  the  midst  of  these  grievous  inconsisten- 
cies. It  will  not  reason — it  will  not  act  in  regard  to  religion 
as  about  every-day  affairs.  In  other  things  a  man  shall  bf 
carried  by  the  stronger  argument.  He  can  not  stop  at  the 
attainment  of  a  conviction.  He  is  ashamed,  and  he  ought 
to  be  ashamed,  not  to  act  in  obedience  to  it.     He  might  as 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE.  15^1 

well  be  a  brute  or  a  log  as  such  a  man.  It  is  only  in  religion 
that  we  see  men  of  mind  in  equilibrio  under  the  pressure  of 
a  thousand  denwnstrations  —  unmoved  by  motives  of  infinite 
strength.  We  are  used  to  such  spectacles  ;  our  eyes  have 
no  longer  any  tears  for  them.  We  look  for  nothing  better 
than  to  see  respectable,  sensible  men  offend  against  all  the 
laws  of  their  own  nature,  so  they  have  a  chance  to  offend 
against  God  in  it.  01  it  is  this  perverseness  —  this  fatuity 
— this  voluntary  stultifying  of  good  minds,  that  baffles  the 
preacher,  and  drives  him  to  his  wit's  end.  What  can  we  do, 
what  can  we  say  more,  surrounded  by  an  immortal  com- 
pany of  moral  agents,  who  are  ready  to  grant  all  that  we 
claim  for  God's  truth,  and  yet  are  wholly  unmoved — oppos- 
ing very  stoically  to  that  word  which  is  quick  and  powerful, 
sharper  than  a  two-edged  sword,  the  resistance  of  a  vis  in- 
erti<x,  which  earth  and  heaven  lack  moral  forces  to  over- 
come. 

Our  Christian  argument  is  too  strong.  I  think,  if  we  could 
only  make  out  a  tolerable  case  of  it — if  we  could  only  show 
that  it  were  barely  possible,  or,  perhaps,  shghtly  probable, 
that  men  might,  by  incessantly  putting  forth  their  highest 
energies,  win  such  a  moral  elevation,  and  such  a  glorious  in- 
heritance as  the  Gospel  proposes  with  so  much  assurance,  it 
would  seem  a  good  adventure  for  men  to  embark  in  ;  and 
many  who  think  it  scorn  to  go  forth  on  a  warfare  which 
leads  to  certain  victory,  wovdd  yet  fight,  on  their  own  charges, 
manfully  enough.  I  beg  of  you  all  to  say  if  you  could  dare 
to  give  up  religion  without  more  thought,  if  the  evidence  in 
its  favor  were  a  hundred  times  less  than  it  is  ?  Would  you 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  work  out  an  experiment  by  which 
nothing  could  be  lost,  and  there  was  at  least  one  chance  in  a 
hundred  of  gaining  iiafinite  good  ?  I  doubt  if  there  are  not 
many  now  asleep  under  the  weight  of  convictions  which  they 
dare  to  contemn,  though  not  to  deny,  who,  under  the  condi- 
tions supposed,  would  follow  out  the  forlorn  adventure  with 

F 


122  INDISPENSABLE     REQUISITES    FOR 

all  the  resources  which  heaven  and  their  own  nature  might 
supply  for  the  effort. 

I  exhort,  I  beg  young  men  to  be  sober-minded.  This  tri- 
fling with  God  and  the  soul  does  positively  border  on  stark 
madness.  To  make  the  infinite  importance,  and  manifold 
proofs,  and  felt  convictions  of  religion  to  be  so  many  reasons 
for  neglecting  it,  is  doing  barbarian  violence  to  all  that  is 
rational  and  right  in  our  natures.  Come,  let  us  reason  to- 
gether—  let  us  run  over  the  trite  arguments  for  once  more 
together.  In  religion,  the  best  arguments  are  the  most  trite, 
the  most  fearful  considerations  the  most  commonplace. 

I  ask,  do  you  mean  to  go  through  life,  and  so  take  hell  for 
your  portion,  if  it  turns  out  there  is  wrath  for  the  impeni- 
tent? I  suppose  not;  you  intend  no  such  folly  —  no  such 
crime  against  God  and  your  souls.  Observe,  then,  your  true 
position  and  attitude,  for  I  pronounce  them  unworthy  of  a  ra- 
tional bemg.  You  are  confessedly  convinced  of  the  reality, 
and  of  the  infinite  value  of  experimental  Christianity,  and 
you  act  as  if  you  were  convinced  of  precisely  the  opposite 
proposition  I  Your  conscience  feels  the  moral  obligation  of 
piety  toward  God,  and  you  will  not  obey  it.  This  is,  then, 
the  sinner's  attitude.  He  lives  in  habitual  conflict  with  Iris 
understanding  and  his  conscience,  with  his  common  sense 
and  his  moral  sense  !  I  am  unable  to  conceive  of  any  prop- 
osition more  justly  startling  to  a  thinking,  well-ordered  mind 
than  this.     So  much  for  principles. 

Now  for  the  reasons  on  which  this  great  offense  is  per- 
petrated ;  for  they  who  do  not  reject  religion,  postpone  for 
cause. 

Distaste  for  religion  is  a  chief  cause.  The  young  feel  a 
repugnance  for  the  pursuits  and  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
This  exists  as  a  fact,  and  must  be  grappled  with  at  some 
time,  and  it  is  only  tolerable  to  delay  the  struggle  if  there  is 
hope  of  less  resistance.  Is  there  such  a  hope  ?  Every  body 
knows,  and  educated  young  men  have  learned  it  from  their 


SUCCESS    IN    LIFE.  123 

accredited  books  on  mental  pliilosophy,  that  just  the  opposite 
is  true.  Tliis  distaste  grows  strong  by  time — ungovernable 
by  indulgence — invincible  by  habit. 

Young  men  are  deterred  by  indiiTercnce  and  insensibility, 
as  well  as  by  distaste.  Will  these  diminish  by  time  ?  Con- 
fessedly the  moral  sensibilities  are  diminished  by  all  disobe- 
dience and  neglect.  The  heart  grows  hard  and  selfish  by 
contact  with  the  world.     This  is  a  law  of  man's  nature. 

Do  obstacles  diminish  by  time  ?  The  love  of  the  world — 
the  cares  of  life — the  anxieties  of  business — do  they  grow 
weaker  or  fewer  as  we  advance*? 

Do  you  wait  for  higher  moral  forces  from  within,  or  ex- 
traneous ?  I  have  shown  that  conscience  grows  feeble  and 
callous  by  sin.  God's  Spirit  is  the  other  resource.  By  what 
law  does  it  operate  more  powerfully  for  resistance  ?  "With 
growing  lights  in  proportion  as  sin  darkens  the  soul  ?  Will 
the  Divine  Free  Agent  be  conciliated  by  opposition — by  re- 
bellious contempt  ?  We  are  not  uninstructed  on  these  points. 
God  is  not  without  a  witness  even  in  our  own  experience, 
We  well  know  that  we  are  engaged  in  a  progress,  in  which 
the  disease  grows  worse,  the  heart  hard,  while  the  meliora- 
ting influence  is  perpetually  impaired — the  resistance  in- 
creases while  the  moral  force  diminishes — the  sinner  grows 
harder  to  save  while  the  Spirit  is  grieved  and  ready  to  depart. 

This  train  of  remark  is  at  least  good  for  one  practical  in- 
ference for  those  who  are  about  to  enter  the  great  world  of 
active  life.  It  is  an  era — a  transition.  Let  them,  at  least, 
beware  of  taking  this  great  step  without  God.  Fear  to  en- 
counter new  temptations — to  incur  new  responsibilities  with- 
out heavenly  guidance.  I  beg  of  you,  settle  your  new  course 
on  high  principles.  In  choosing  what  you  shall  do,  ask  one 
question  only  :  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  Deal 
honestly  with  your  souls  and  your  Savior.  As  you  love  your- 
selves, and  care  for  heaven,  let  the  decision  of  this  great  ques- 
tion be  greatly  honest.      Do  not  move  without  God.      Shun 


124  INDISPENSABLE    REQUISITES,    ETC. 

no  responsibilities,  no  sacrifices,  if  He  impose  them.  Dream 
of  no  success,  no  honors,  no  enjoyments,  Avithout  His  sanction. 
Run  lawfully,  or,  if  you  win,  you  will  not  be  crowned.  Take 
with  you  into  life  the  great  principles  of  the  Gospel.  Abide 
by  them.  They  are  strong,  and  will  uphold  the  weakest. 
They  are  enduring,  and  will  last  to  the  end.  Lean  upon 
them.  Build  upon  them.  Trust  them.  Trust  them  with 
all  the  heart  and  all  the  soul,  and  then  be  sure  the  "gates  of 
hell"  can  not  prevail  against  you. 


RESOURCES     AND     DUTIES,    ETC.  125 


II. 

RESOURCES  AND  DUTIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  YOUNG  MEN. 

A  DISCOURSE    TO   THE   GRADUATINa  CLASS   OF   THE   WESLEYAN 
UNIVERSITY.       1845. 

Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh, 
to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof. — Romans,  xiii.,  14. 

This  text  is  highly  figurative,  but  its  intention  and  import 
are  very  obvious.  It  is  an  exhortation  to  be  evangehcally 
and  thoroughly  religious.  The  first  eleven  chapters  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  are  devoted  to  the  exposition  and  in- 
culcation of  Christian  doctrines.  The  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
are  hortatory  and  preceptive.  They  announce  our  practical 
duties,  and  warn  of  dangers  to  be  shunned.  They  declare, 
with  authority  and  without  any  reserve  at  all,  that  we  are 
held,  under  the  Gospel  dispensation,  to  the  highest  style  of 
virtue,  both  in  the  motive  and  in  the  performance.  So  far 
as  concerns  the  principle  of  our  movements  in  the  new  life, 
'love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,"  while  in  point  of  fact  and 
actual  manifestation,  believers  are  called  upon  to  "present 
their  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto  God, 
which  is  their  reasonable  service,"  to  "prove  what  is  that 
good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God."  Our  text 
announces  the  true  method  of  attaining  these  vital  Christian 
objects  ill  reference  both  to  the  motive  and  the  manifestation : 
"  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision 
for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof." 

There  is  a  numerous  and  very  interesting  class  of  persons, 
entitled  to  our  respect  by  their  intelUgence  and  moral  worth, 
and  appealing  strongly  to  our  sympathies  by  the  false  and 


12G  RESOURCES     AND     DUTIES     OF 

highly  critical  position  which  they  occupy.  They  are  un- 
doubting  believers  in  the  Christian  religion,  and  Avarm, 
avowed  admirers  of  its  sublime  theology,  pure  ethics,  and  di- 
vine philanthropy.  Yet  they  are  not  Christians.  They  are 
destitute  not  only  of  the  hopes,  but  also  of  the  helps  of  the 
Gospel.  Something  of  its  morals  they  contrive  to  exemplify. 
Some  chill,  half-extinguished  rays  from  the  Sun  of  righteous- 
ness are  allowed  to  blend  with  their  philosophy,  and  give 
coloring  to  their  maxims  of  life  ;  but  as  a  religious  system, 
claiming  the  profoundest  homage  and  the  most  imreserved 
obedience,  they  only  contemplate  it  from  afar,  and  sedu- 
lously shun  all  personal  contact  and  near  communion  with 
it.  As  a  religious  system,  that  is  to  say,  as  to  all  the  ends 
for  which  God  has  made  this  great  revelation  to  the  world, 
the  Gospel  is  to  these  men  but  a  nullity,  and,  for  all  practi- 
cal results,  all  one  as  a  lie.  The  moral  attitude  of  these  be- 
lievers, who  yet  refuse  to  be  Christians,  is  painfully  anoma- 
lous as  well  as  grossly  at  variance  with  all  right  reason  and 
the  manifest  fitness  of  things,  just  in  proportion  as  their  con- 
victions are  clear  and  their  faith  satisfactory.  Speculate 
upon  it  as  a  mere  phenomenon  apart  from  all  evil  conse- 
quences— what  a  spectacle  of  absurd  folly  and  self-degrada- 
tion is  it  for  a  rational  being  to  live  in  habitual  contempt  of 
the  sure  teachings  of  his  own  reason  and  experience,  or  for 
a  moral  being  to  live  in  perpetual  conflict  with  his  con- 
science ?  What  should  we  think  of  a  man  of  mature  age  and 
unimpaired  vision,  who  should  deliberately  walk  into  a  flood 
or  into  a  conflagration  ?  What  should  we  think  of  a  com- 
munity skilled  in  the  laws  and  liabilities  of  our  earthly  being, 
which  should  contemn  all  the  promises  of  seed-time  and  har- 
vest, and  blindly  and  bravely  advance  to  meet  the  inevitable 
iamine  ?  What,  but  that  chance  or  Heaven  had  smitten  them 
with  madness,  the  dire  precxirsor  of  impending  destruction  I 
Yet  the  infatuation  we  are  now  seeking  to  expose  is  greater 
and  worse  than  this,  in  the  same  degree  that  eternal  things 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  127 

are  more  important  than  temporal.  What  right  has  a  man — 
I  do  not  speak  of  him  now  as  a  creature  of  God,  and  respon- 
sible at  his  tribunal,  but  as  a  man  accountable  to  himself, 
and  bound  to  maintain  some  degree  of  self-respect,  as  well 
as  to  make  some  provision  for  his  own  welfare,  present  and 
prospective — ivhat  right  has  he  to  trifle  with  his  own  des- 
tiny, and  to  perpetrate  such  enormities  as  the  shutting  of  his 
cars  and  his  eyes  against  the  words  and  the  manifestations 
of  the  Divine  mercy  toward  him  ?  He  is  a  being  with  strong 
passions,  which  need  to  be  chastened  and  controlled — of  pow- 
erful tendencies  downward  as  well  as  upward,  which  call  for 
checks  —  of  immortal  aspirations,  which  struggle  for  their 
sphere  and  their  proper  satisfactions.  These  unfelt,  undying 
wants,-  for  which  the  Gospel  alone  has  made  adequate  pro- 
vision, are  so  many  voices  rising  up  out  of  the  bosom  of  our 
human  nature,  to  rebuke  and  shame  the  believing  impeni- 
tent out  of  liis  stupendous  folly  and  more  stupendous  guilt. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Gospel  is  a  voluntary  sys- 
tem, under  which  no  one  becomes  virtuous  or  pious  without 
seeking  to  become  so.  It  is  under  this  condition  that  it  ap- 
peals to  our  moral  susceptibilities  ;  and  not  to  yield  obedience 
to  the  call  is  both  to  leave  this  part  of  our  nature  without 
development  and  training,  and  to  inflict  upon  it  positive  vio- 
lence. Religion,  too,  has  its  times  and  seasons.  The  dews 
of  its  grace  are  specially  adapted  to  tender  plants  and  fresh- 
opening  flowers,  and  are  less  congenial  and  less  efTectual 
when  the  growth  is  more  advanced,  and  the  root  has  struck 
deeper  into  the  hard,  arid  soil  of  this  world.  Religion  has 
its  special  lessons  for  youth,  which  can  not  be  learned,  or,  if 
learned,  are  no  longer  of  much  practical  importance  in  ma- 
turer  life.  It  seeks  to  lay  its  molding  hand  upon  young,  un- 
sophisticated minds,  that  it  may  bring  out  fine  specimens  of 
redeemed  humanity  for  God's  glory  and  for  heavenly  bhss. 
It  does  not,  and  it  can  not,  change  the  leopard's  spots.  Rep- 
etition and  reiteration  have  given  to  these  simple  statements 


128  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES     OF 

the  character  and  authority  of  proverbs,  and,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  the  infirmity  of  trite  maxims ;  yet  are  they  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  highest  philosophy  and  the  most  venerable  ex- 
perience, and  they  are  so  many  arguments  in  favor  not  only 
of  becoming  pious,  but  of  doing  so  at  the  right  time. 

Religion,  to  be  genuine  and  eflective,  must  be  ostensible 
and  avowed.  Let  no  one  hope  to  work  out  his  salvation,  or 
to  secure  any,  even  the  smallest  of  the  spiritual  advantages 
which  the  Gospel  offers,  by  stealth.  God,  and  our  own  mor- 
al nature,  call  for  open,  manly  confession,  and  both  will  as- 
suredly disown  and  denounce  all  pretensions  to  piety  which 
shun  exposure  to  the  broad  light  of  the  day.  Nothing  can 
be  effectually  done  in  this  work  till  the  sincere  aspirant  after 
Christian  excellence  fairly  assumes  his  position,  and  becomes, 
as  he  is  intended  to  be,  "  a  spectacle  to  men  and  to  angels" 
— "  a  city  set  on  a  hill,  that  can  not  be  hid."  We  not  only 
have  lessons  to  learn  for  our  own  improvement,  but  lessons 
to  exemplify  for  the  improvement  of  others  and  for  the  Sav- 
ior's honor.  They  only  who  run  lawfully  win  the  prize,  and 
none  others  are  likely  to  receive  the  precious  aids  indis- 
pensable to  success.  This  we  might  expect  from  all  we 
know  of  ourselves  or  of  God's  attributes,  and  of  this  we  are 
notified  in  His  word.  Till  a  man  assumes  an  avowed  and 
recognized  Christian  position,  he  has  no  full  scope  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  own  proper  resources,  and  no  adequate  occasions 
for  calling  up  his  powers.  The  state  of  indecision  and  di- 
vided aspirations  which  precedes  the  final  and  formal  decision 
of  this  great  question,  is  little  better  than  a  paralysis  of  the 
soul.  There  is  seldom  any  distinct  vision,  and  never  any 
earnest,  well-directed  purpose  or  action,  until  this  moral  cri- 
sis is  passed.  But  with  the  assumption  of  his  true  Chris- 
tian position,  at  the  moment  of  "  putting  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ" — not  on  religious,  supernatural  grounds  alone,  but  on 
philosophical  also — the  man  receives  an  investiture  of  high 
powers  and  immunities.     It  is  an  important  point  gained  to 


C II  mSTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  129 

have  it  known  to  which  party  we  belong.  The  sight  of  the 
banner  that  floats  over  our  heads  will  not  fail  of  clearing 
away  many  annoyances  and  many  enemies,  and  of  bringing 
to  our  aid  troops  of  powerful  auxiliaries.  The  courage  of  the 
soldier  rises  with  the  putting  on  of  his  uniform,  and  still  more 
at  sight  of  the  marshaled  hosts  that  throng  the  outspread 
field. 

The  responsibilities  of  a  Christian  profession,  so  often  feared 
and  shunned  as  intolerable  burdens,  under  the  pressure  of 
which  we  are  likely  to  make  a  disgraceful  fall,  ought  rather 
to  be  invited  as  safeguards  and  helps  in  the  working  out  of 
our  salvation.  We  are  likely  to  walk  circumspectly  as  in 
the  day,  when  conscious  that  the  expectant  eyes  of  friends  as 
Avell  as  foes  are  upon  us.  The  pious  JEneas  had  a  double 
motive  for  flying  from  the  burning  city  when  he  bore  his 
aged  father  upon  liis  shoulders,  and  led  his  infant  son  by  the 
hand. 

The  pursuits,  too,  in  which  rehgion  employs  us,  have  a  di- 
rect and  powerful  tendency  to  expand  and  invigorate  the  vir- 
tues to  which  they  give  exercise.  We  begin  feebly  and  faint- 
ly— it  may  be  almost  reluctantly.  With  infinite  difficulty, 
we  drag  ourselves  away  from  the  world,  but  more  encourage- 
ments and  fresh  resources  rise  up  in  our  path,  and  we  speed- 
ily find  that  Christ  has  counter  q,nd  stronger  attractions.  His 
grace,  ever  the  sole  dependence  of  the  humble  Christian,  ope- 
rates at  first  but  feebly  ;  beseeching,  wooing,  drawing  us  to 
be  reconciled  to  God.  It  comes,  however,  to  exert  an  influ- 
ence more  and  more  decided.  It  animates,  it  encourages,  it 
impels,  it  constrains  us.  We  are  borne  onward  by  it  as  on 
the  bosom  of  a  great  deep.  Its  prevalence  becomes  at  length 
a  domination,  and  the  willing  captive,  bound,  but  unconscious 
of  his  chains,  loses,  in  the  deep  feelings  of  the  devotion  of  his 
heart,  all  sense  of  his  moral  agency,  which  gives  way  to  a 
law  of  love — to  a  sort  of  predestination  by  the  affections. 
Religion  is  no  longer  a  drudgery,  but  a  dehght ;  and  he  who 

F  2 


130         RESOURCES  AND  DUTIES  OF 

could  at  first  do  nothing  as  it  ought  to  be  done,  is  enabled  to 
do  all  things  through  Christ. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  resources  of  him  who  has  fairly 
"  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  are  thus  constantly  and  rap- 
idly augmenting,  the  positive  obstacles  in  the  way  of  success 
gradually  but  surely  diminish  both  in  number  and  magnitude. 
In  the  first  place,  the  evil  passions  and  the  devil  can  find  lit- 
tle for  one  to  do  who  is  fully  employed  by  the  Savior.  Then 
bad  habits,  a  great  hinderance  at  first,  grow  weaker  by  dis- 
use and  neglect.  Better  tastes,  too,  are  cultivated ;  so  that 
what  were  seductive  pleasures,  and  so  powerful  temptations 
once,  lose  their  character  and  become  an  offense.  Walking 
by  faith,  the  Christian  appreciates  more  and  more  completely 
the  excellence  of  the  heavenly  objects  with  which  he  is  thus 
made  familiar,  and  so  acquires  a  standard  'of  comparison 
which  he  can  not  but  be  ever  applying  to  the  worldly  objects 
and  enjoyments  that  invite  liis  regards.  Such  a  process  can 
not  fail  to  wean  him  from  perishable  good,  and  so  leave  him 
more  free  from  every  weight. 

While  this  Christian  process  strengthens  perpetually  the 
motives  and  the  aids  to  piety,  and  abates  the  force  of  oppo- 
sition, it  has  a  yet  stronger  tendency  to  improve  the  quality 
of  our  virtues.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  retard  and  discour- 
age a  generous  mind,  mtent  ,on  the  attainment  of  the  high- 
est excellence,  than  a  perpetual  consciousness,  or  even  sus- 
picion, that  its  best  performances  are  marred  by  the  admix- 
ture of  some  base  alloy  ;  that  some  low,  selfish  motive  may 
have  been  active,  though  unpcrceived,  in  the  production  of 
its  most  shining  deeds.  We  may  acquire  humility  or  modesty 
from  worldly  disappointments  and  mortifications,  but  some 
measure  of  misanthropy  and  discontent  is  likely  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  same  lessons.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  prac- 
tice beneficence  and  charity — to  exert  the  highest  pubhc,  or 
social,  or  private  virtues,  without  having,  whether  we  will 
or  not,  some  reference  to  the  returns  which  we  are  likely  to 


CHRISTIAN     YOUNG    MEN.  131 

receive  in  the  form  of  gratitude,  or  reputation,  or  public  con- 
fidence, or  posthumous  fame.  This  selfishness,  to  whatever 
extent  it  mingles  with  our  motives,  not  only  produces  a  sense 
of  self-degradation,  but  it  is,  iii  fact,  degrading  to  our  per- 
forraances  and  character  ;  and  so  largely  does  this  debasing 
alloy  eirter  into  our  spirit  and  conduct,  and  so  utterly  impos- 
sible is  it  to  exclude  it  altogether,  without  some  more  potent 
exorcism  than  mere  human  virtue  can  summon  to  its  assist- 
ance, that  most  men,  after  some  vain  struggles  against  its  oc- 
cult, malignant  influence,  yield  to  its  dominion,  and  become  sa- 
tisfied with  doing  their  duty,  without  much  concern  about  the 
motive.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  but  too  obvious  that 
virtue  has  nothing  left  besides  its  form  and  its  name.  It  has 
no  longer  any  power  to  purify,  etherealize,  and  exalt  our  na- 
ture. It  is  a  mere  earthly  thing,  a  matter  of  business,  a 
balancing  of  interests  and  conveniences,  a  skillful  and  com- 
prehensive solution  of  the  question.  How  can  we  take  the 
best  care  of  ourselves  ?  I  am  quite  sure  that  many  will  find, 
in  their  own  consciousness  and  recollections,  manifold  illus- 
trations of  the  evil  I  have  exposed.  Now  he  who  has  "  put 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  has  found  a  perfect  antidote  for 
this  evil.  He  has  become  a  disciple,  that  he  may  be  saved  ; 
and  he  devotes  his  entire  life  to  Christ,  who  was  crucified 
for  him,  as  a  matter  of  gratitude  and  pious  obligation.  "  Love 
is  the  perfecting  of  the  law,"  and  this  is  a  motive  from  which 
self  is  wholly  excluded.  We  work,  we  sufier,  we  live  for  an- 
other, even  for  Him  who  died  for  us  and  rose  againv  When  we 
have  fuUy  "  put  on  Christ,"  then  is  love  made  perfect,  and  all 
fear  and  all  selfishness  are  fully  "  cast  out."  Disenthralled 
from  all  low,  personal  ends,  and  seeking  only  how  we  may 
please  Christ,  we  enter  upon  a  high,  holy  career  of  virtue, 
which  can  never  know  the  taint  of  worldly  maxims — which 
finds  its  model,  its  resources,  and  its  ends  in  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord.  *  Gratitude,  love,  loyalty,  these  are  the  motives  by 
which  all  heaven  is  swayed.     They  impel  the  angels  onward 


132  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

in  their  career,  and  yet  more  the  "  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect."  Indeed,  heavenly  pui-suits,  and  enjoyments,  and 
virtues,  are  no  other  than  those  into  which  the  good  man  is 
introduced  vv^hen  he  "  puts  on  Christ," — the  remote  and  invis- 
ible parts  of  the  orbit  in  which  he  has  already  begun  to  move. 
As  the  Christian  motive  is  the  only  one  which  can  be 
trusted  for  purity,  so  it  is  the  only  one  that  can  be  relied  on 
ibr  efficiency.  '-Love  is  stronger  than  death."  A  man  will 
often  do  for  the  love  of  his  friend  or  his  family  what  he 
could  not  do  on  any  lower  impulse.  But  if  afiection  for  kin- 
dred, according  to  the  flesh,  is  able  to  minister  strong  im- 
pulses to  the  spirit,  the  love  of  Christ  "constrains  us."  It 
imparts  an  energy  something  more  than  human,  and  quali- 
fies for  achievements  only  less  than  divine.  A  man's  per- 
forpiances  are  likely  to  bear  some  proportion  to  the  strength 
of  the  motives  on  which  he  acts.  Now  the  great  Christian 
motive,  love  to  Christ,  partakes  of  the  superhuman  and  the 
godlike.  It  has  the  additional  advantage  of  stabihty.  It 
can  not  be  impaired  by  time,  or  change,  or  circumstance,  but 
attains  dominion  over  the  soul,  potent  in  exact  proportion  to 
our  progress  in  piety.  The  racer  moves  more  swiftly  as  he 
approaches  the  goal.  A  body  tending  to  the  earth  gains  speed 
in  its  descent.  So  the  Christian  is  borne  on  with  an  ever  ac- 
cumulating momentum  as  he  draws  nearer  to  perfection  in 
faith  and  love.  When  we  add  that  Christ  has  provided 
divine  assistance  for  all  exigencies  to  which  our  human  re- 
sources are  unequal  ;  that  he  gives  the  Holy  Spirit  to  help 
our  infirmities  —  to  assure  our  hopes,  illuminate  our  minds, 
and  purify  our  hearts — I  am  unable  to  perceive  what  is  yet 
wanting  to  a  most  admirable  and  all-sufficient  apparatus  of 
motives  and  means  for  the  attainment  of  the  highest  moral 
excellence,  and  to  the  most  glorious  consummation  of  all  that 
our  fallen,  but  redeemed  nature  can  aspire  to. 

1  have  already  intimated — indeed,  the  text  directly  af 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  133 

firms,  and  this  is  its  burden — that  these  great  facilities  lor 
the  prosecution  of  our  moral  improvement  arc  suspended  on 
the  one  condition  of  a  sincere  and  hearty  adoption  of  the  Gos- 
pel. We  are  "  to  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  He  must 
become  to  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption  —  must  be  teacher,  and  priest,  and  only  po- 
tentate. We  must  wear  his  livery,  must  go  our  warfare  at 
his  charges  and  under  his  banner.  Our  dignity,  our  defense, 
and  our  exceeding  great  reward  must  be  sought  and  found 
in  Him.  But  we  are  not  only  called  upon  to  make  this  entire 
dedication  to  Clirist  ;  we  are  also  cautioned  against  all  res- 
ervations :  "  Make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the 
lusts  thereof"  Faith  in  Christ,  and  a  resort  to  the  Gospel 
for  pardon,  and  purity,  and  eternal  life,  presuppose  an  uncon- 
ditional submission  to  its  terms.  Not  one  successful  step  can 
be  taken  in  religion  previously  to  the  settlement  of  this  grand 
preliminary.  The  mind  may  not  be  able  at  the  outset  to 
take  in  all  the  particulars  involved  in  this  great  act  of  sub- 
mission, but  it  can  and  does  embrace  them  implicitly  ;  and 
it  is  of  the  very  essence  of  all  right  faith  to  confide  in  Christ 
to  the  uttermost,  and  to  consent  to  follow  him  whithersoever 
he  goeth,  giving  to  the  winds  all  anxiety  about  the  special 
paths  in  which  we  may  be  called  to  proceed  in  our  onward 
march  to  heaven.  Christ's  dignity  and  sovereignty  are  con- 
cerned in  imposing  such  conditions  as  he  pleases,  and  in  re- 
ceiving no  terms  at  the  hand  of  the  sinner ;  and  he  will  un- 
questionably use  his  disciples  in  just  such  services,  and  im- 
pose upon  them  just  such  burdens  as  he  sees  best,  giving  no 
pledges  in  advance  but  the  assurance  that  his  grace  shall 
be  sufficient  for  them.  I  know  well  that  a  multitude,  even 
of  professing  Christians,  begin  and  prosecute  what  is  called 
a  religious  course  on  a  very  difierent  plan.  They  give  law 
to  religion.  They  retain  as  many  indulgences,  and  concede 
as  many  sacrifices,  as  may  fall  in  with  their  tastes.  They 
make  provision  for  pride,  and  ambition,  and  sensuality,  and 


134  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

self-wijl,  and  "put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  only  in  so  far 
as  they  think  he  may  set  ofi'  their  own  puii^le  and  fine  linen 
to  the  best  advantage.  But  my  business  to-day  is  with  the 
sincere,  who  wish  to  be  made  holy  and  to  be  saved  by  Christ, 
and  who  really  desire  to  know  the  conditions  of  success.  I 
take  it  upon  me  to  warn  all  such  to  beware  of  admitting 
any  worldly  or  selfish  motive  or  consideration  tvhatevcr 
into  the  settlement  of  this  great  question  between  God  and 
their  souls.  I  take  it  upon  me  to  proclaim  that  all  such  tam- 
pering in  the  business  of  religion  wiU  certainly  prove  fatal 
to  any  well-founded  hopes  of  success  in  the  Christian  career. 
Whoever  stops  to  inquire  whether  it  may  cost  him  sacri- 
fices to  be  a  Christian,  with  any  intention  to  hesitate  if  it 
does,  has  admitted  a  consideration  utterly  incompatible  with 
his  becoming  a  Christian  at  all.  Whoever  chooses  his  creed 
or  his  church  with  any,  the  slightest,  reference  to  the  honor, 
or  the  ease,  or  the  emolument  it  may  give  or  withhold,  does, 
by  such  an  admission,  utterly  vitiate  all  his  claim  to  have 
any  part  or  lot  in  the  matter  of  saving  piety.  I  do  not  speak 
of  those  who  knowingly  and  deliberately  make  these  their 
chief  grounds  of  preference  ;  but  I  affirm  that  it  is  wholly 
anti-Christian,  and  an  insult  to  the  crucified  Savior,  to  yield 
any,  the  smallest,  place  to  worldly  motives  in  choosing  the 
Christian  position  which  we  will  occupy.  Let  Christ  and 
conscience  decide  in  this  matter.  "  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the 
lusts  thereof"  The  Gospel  will  admit  of  no  compromise 
here.  This  is  its  point  of  honor,  which  it  can  not,  and  will 
not,  yield  by  a  single  iota.  I  feel  called  upon  to  use  the 
language  of  unmeasured  denunciation  against  a  mistake,  so 
often  fatal  to  hopeful  beginnings  in  religion — so  very  often 
fatal  to  the  religious  prospects  of  young  men.  I  deem  this 
point  of  sufficient  importance  to  receive  more  particular  and 
detailed  illustration. 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  135 

Without  stopping  here  to  consider  the  grosser  forms  which 
this  grave  oflbusc  against  the  Savior's  dignity  familiarly  as- 
sumes, I  will  only  refer  to  svieh  as  are  most  likely  to  be  found 
in  cultivated,  aspiring  minds.  A  demand  is  often  put  forth 
in  this  quarter  for  more  tasteful  developments  of  Christianity 
than  we  are  wont  to  meet  with  in  its  every-day  history.  Ac- 
customed to  look  for  the  beautiful  and  the  poetical  in  their 
speculations  as  well  as  in  external  objects,  persons  of  this 
class  can  conceive  of  nothmg  higher  or  nobler  in  the  Gospel 
than  its  adaptations  to  minister  to  this  universal  want  of  cul- 
tivated, polished  society ;  and  they  have  little  true  respect, 
and  less  sympathy  for  any  manifestation  of  piety  which  does 
not  conform  to  their  special  tastes.  They  have  a  theory  on 
the  subject,  which  requires  that  the  divine  Author  of  fill  :he 
beauty  and  hamiony  of  the  material  world,  as  well  as  the 
world  of  intellect,  should,  for  still  higher  reasons,  observe  the 
same  great  pruiciples  in  His  plans  and  operations  for  bringing 
men  to  heaven.  I  have  stated  the  substance  of  the  theory, 
which  is,  however,  variously  modified  by  habit,  education, 
and  temperament.  And  I  remark  that  this  demand  upon  the 
Gospel  quite  loses  sight  of  the  fact,  that  the  salvation  of  souls 
is  its  grand  design  and  object,  to  which  mental  and  social 
improvement  are  only  incidental  and  secondary ;  that  Chris- 
tianity finds  the  world  immersed  in  darkness,  and  vice,  and 
depravity  ;  so  that  its  great  work  on  earth  is  that  of  elabora- 
tion, of  renovation,  of  preparation,  for  a  higher  estate  of  ma- 
ture graces  and  perfect  harmonies.  It  has,  of  necessity,  a 
great  deal  of  rough  work  to  do  ;  its  processes  must  be  adapted 
to  the  material  to  be  acted  on,  no  less  than  to  the  results  to 
be  produced.  The  symphonies  divine  that  charm  the  angels 
are  not  so  well  fitted  to  this  sinful  world,  which  has  con- 
trived to  array  its  tempers,  and  tastes,  and  tendencies  against 
its  Maker,  in  a  hostility  far  more  brutish  than  angelic.  The 
means  and  appliances  of  the  Gospel,  in  order  to  be  effective, 
must  recoffnize  the  conditions  and  the  disabilities  of  the  be 


136  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 


ings  over  whom  its  conquests  are  to  be  won ;  and  whoever 
would  be  an  efl'ective  co-worker  with  God  in  this  broad  field, 
must,  like  God,  be  content  to  accommodate  his  message  and 
ministry  to  the  multitude.  Let  no  man  who  has  raised  him- 
self to  the  great  purpose  of  living  for  his  race  and  for  eter- 
nity, indulge  in  the  idle  fancy  that  he  can  gain  his  chosen  end 
by  herding  with  the  philosophers,  and  propounding  Christian- 
ity to  the  multitude  in  learned  theses.  Let  him  rather  come 
down  from  the  high  places  of  intellectual  pride,  and  put  him- 
self in  communication  with  the  masses.  These  are  not  yet 
polished,  or  intelligent,  or  able  to  appreciate  all  that  in  heav- 
en will  be  familiar  as  household  words.  Li  the  most  favor- 
able state  of  society  which  has  ever  existed  on  the  earth,  the 
multitude  of  men  have  been  uneducated — have  been  doomed 
to  toil,  and  to' comparative  poverty.  To  this  condition  of  our 
race  the  Gospel  at  first  adapted  its  lessons  and  its  agencies, 
it  may  be,  from  choice,  but  assuredly  from  necessity  —  a  ne- 
cessity that  still  exists  in  all  its  force.  I  may  add  that  the 
demand  for  more  tasteful  or  philosophical  developments  of 
Christianity  can  only  be  satisfied  at  the  expense  of  the  im- 
mensely important  class  of  men  for  whose  special  benefit  the 
Christian  revelation  was  promulgated — for  "  the  Gospel  was 
preached  to  the  poor."  The  reform  proposed  might  accom- 
modate the  tenth  of  a  tithe  of  the  population  of  highly  civil- 
ized nations ;  but  its  natural  tendency  would  be  to  separate 
this  favored  class  from  the  masses,  and  bring  them  under  a 
Christian  culture,  the  most  intellectual  and  graceful,  it  may 
be,  but  wholly  inapphcable  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  the 
people.  These,  forsaken  by  their  natural  guides,  their  can- 
dlesticks removed  from  their  midst,  must  sink  into  hopeless 
impiety  and  ignorance  but  for  God's  mercy,  which  is  wont 
to  interpose,  and  raise  up  prophets  from  among  themselves. 

But  this  Divine  interference  for  the  prevention  of  results, 
utterly  and  eternally  ruinous,  does  not  adequately  provide 
against  some  of  the  most  deplorable  evils  that  mar  the  piety 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  137 

and  fetter  the  energies  of  the  Church.  The  Gospel  is  a  lev- 
eler,  and  contemplates  our  whole  sinful  race  as  "  made  of  one 
blood."  It  will  have  "  the  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together" 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  forget  all  earthly  distinctions  in  rapt 
meditation  on  the  infinite  goodness  and  glory  of  God,  and  on 
the  heavenly  world,  to  which  they  both  look  by  faith,  as  to 
a  common  inheritance.  It  will  have  the  lettered  and  the  un- 
taught, the  high-born  and  the  low,  mingle  before  a  common 
altar,  and  bow  before  a  common  Savior.  It  abhors  caste, 
and  is  ambitious  of  bringing  together  in  one  vast  brotherhood 
of  faith,  and  feeling,  and  co-operation,  all  blood-bought  souls. 
It  will  have  the  rich  contribute  their  wealth,  the  noble  their 
influence,  the  learned  their  wisdom,  the  poor  their  sterling 
virtues,  their  patient  toil,  their  might  of  sympathy  and  of  sin- 
ew, to  the  building  up  of  a  pure  and  powerful  Church.  It  is 
by  the  combination  of  all  classes  and  all  talents  that  human 
society  prospers  most,  and,  for  aught  that  appears,  it  is  the 
Savior's  design  to  constitute  and  edify  the  Church  upon  the 
same  principle.  Noav  the  pride  of  man  comes  in  to  thwart 
this  benevolent  design.  It  will  have  an  aristocracy,  where 
Heaven  can,  least  of  all,  tolerate  it.  It  puts  asunder  what 
God  has  joined  together.  As  far  as  the  anti-Christian  theory, 
against  which  I  so  earnestly  protest,  is  carried  out  in  prac- 
tice, it  monopolizes  and  covers  up  the  hght.  It  sequesters 
talent  and  influence  but  to  place  them  in  positions  where 
they  act  not  at  all,  or  at  the  greatest  disadvantage,  upon  the 
general  interests  of  rehgion  and  humanity. 

Nor  must  I  pass  over,  as  too  unimportant  to  deserve  notice, 
the  inevitable  tendency  of  this  religious  exclusiveness  to  gen- 
erate a  spirit  and  a  power  antagonist  to  the  universal  equality 
guaranteed  by  our  free  institutions.  We  have  no  privileged 
orders,  nor  is  it  likely,  in  the  existing  temper  of  the  public 
mind,  that  talent,  or  wealth,  or  ancestry,  or  even  great  vir- 
tues, will  ever  give  to  their  possessors  a  social  position  dan- 
gerous to  the  rights  of  the  humblest  citizen  ;  but  I  must  think 


138  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OP 

the  lovers  of  our  repv;blican  institutions  and  manners  will 
have  some  cause  for  solicitude,  if  the  growing  tendency 
among  our  influential  classes  to  desert  the  popular  walks  of 
religion  for  more  select  and  pretending  connections  shall  in- 
crease in  a  similar  ratio  for  twenty  or  fifty  years  to  come. 
The  danger  is  not  at  all  diminished  by  Christian  forms  and 
names  ;  and  a  religious  aristocracy  which  is  completely  shel- 
tered under  the  guarantees  of  universal  freedom  of  conscience, 
secured  to  all  by  our  free  institutions,  has  no  security  to  give 
m  return  to  those  institutions  that  it  will  not,  at  least,  gene- 
rate a  spirit  dangerous  to  their  purity  and  perpetuity.  No 
pride  is  more  blinding  and  corrupting  than  spiritual  pride, 
and  men  who  are  ever  fancying  themselves  upon  a  lofty  em- 
inence, unconsciously  acquire  a  habit  of  looking  down  upon 
the  rest  of  the  world.* 

*  I  shall  have  been  greatly  misunderstood  if  it  is  infen-ed  from  these 
statements  and  reasonings  that  I  entertain  uncharitable  views,  or  would 
call  in  question  the  sincere  piety  and  Christian  virtues  of  the  religious 
denominations  of  this  country.  My  single  object  is,  to  expose  a  prac- 
tical and  most  pernicious  error,  which  is  perpetually  foi-ced  upon  ray 
attention  by  my  position,  and  by  some  acquaintance  with  the  present 
condition  of  the  American  Church.  It  is  no  reflection  upon  the  con- 
scientious and  devout  members  of  any  Christian  sect  to  intimate  that 
persons  attracted  to  its  communion  or  its  ministry  by  other  than  strict 
ly  religious  considerations,  are  not  very  likely  to  become  eminent  for 
Christian  attainments  or  usefulness.  It  is  well  understood  that  such 
proselytes  are  frequently  admitted  into  their  new  relations  with  a  de- 
cree of  distrust  and  caution,  of  which  no  conjecture  could  be  formed 
from  the  eclat  which  is  given  to  their  conversions  by  a  sectarian  press. 
In  that  particular  branch  of  the  Church  which  numerically  profits  most 
by  the  tendency  I  have  exposed,  a  conviction  is  evidently  gaining 
ground,  that  it  is  better  policy,  upon  the  whole,  to  ti-ain  up  its  own 
ministry,  than  to  open  so  wide  a  door  to  reciiiits  from  the  seminaries 
and  pulpits  of  other  denominations.  Moderate  men  are  becoming 
startled  at  the  vaulting  speed  with  which  the  neophyte  so  generally 
hastens  to  embrace  the  most  extreme  opinions  and  policy  known  to  his 
new  sphere  of  speculation  and  activity ;  while,  to  considerate  men  of 
all  parties,  it  must  be  obvious  that,  however  a  deef>,  hereditary  rever- 
ence for  imposing  forms,  and  high,  exclusive  claims,  may  be  compati- 


CimiSTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  139 

A  question  of  far  deeper  import  is  this :  What  are  the 
more  strictly  religious  efiects  of  this  defection  from  the  pop- 
hie  with  humble,  evangelical  piety  in  pei'sons  trained  from  their  child- 
hood under  such  influences,  there  may,  at  lenst,  bo  some  danger  to  tho 
unstable,  giddy  mind  of  tho  novice,  who,  without  any  such  safeguards, 
is  suddenly  brought  in  contact  with  ideas  to  him  so  new  and  so  mag- 
nificent. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  bo  thought  to  bestow  upon  this  topic  a  measure  of 
atteutiou  greater  than  its  intrinsic  importance.  As  a  practical  question, 
its  importance  is  eveiy  day  increasing  in  this  country,  and  the  time  may 
not  be  far  away  when  it  will  force  itself  upou  the  consideration  of  all 
thoughtful  uiinds.  As  a  mere  sectarian  question,  it  may  well  enough 
be  regarded  as  trivial ;  for  it  is  of  little  consequence  to  the  enlightened 
Christian  whether  the  losing  party  suffer  more  by  mortification  than 
the  winning  gains  by  the  enjoyment  of  a  petty  triumph.  There  are 
considerations,  however,  of  far  deeper  import  both  to  the  individual  se- 
ceder  and  to  the  cause  of  our  common  Christianity.  These  easy  tran- 
sitions from  the  Church  in  which  we  were  reared,  or  into  which  we 
have  been  providentially  led  to  enter,  on  our  conversion,  to  another, 
however  pure  or  orthodox,  can  hardly  ever  be  effected  without  injury 
to  the  cause  of  Christ ;  and  I  must  think  them  almost  never  innocent, 
unless  when  they  are  prompted  by  strictly  conscientious  motives.  It 
would  generally  be  better  to  submit  to  great  inconveniences,  and  even 
to  tolerate  slight  errors  in  doctrine  or  discipline,  rather  than  i-esort  to 
a  remedy  so  violent  and  dangerous.  To  the  individual  himself  it  is 
likely  to  prove  a  very  hazardous  experiment  to  forsake  the  hereditary, 
or  the  chosen  communion  for  another.  He  deprives  himself  of  ad- 
vantages not  to  be  expected  from  new  religious  associations,  however 
pure  and  elevating.  Ties,  which  religion  sanctifies  and  strengthens  for 
itself,  are  weakened  or  broken  asunder.  The  genial  sympathies  of 
domestic  piety  are  chilled ;  the  unquestioned  authority  of  hereditary 
faith  is  shaken,  and  all  the  nameless  influences  that  guard  and  help  a 
youth,  seeking  and  serving  God  in  the  midst  of  his  kindred,  and  under 
the  approving  and  watchful  eyes  of  the  good  men  with  whose  faces 
and  names  are  associated  his  hallowed  recollections  and  impressiona 
of  the  Lord's  house,  are  all  utterly  lost.  I  w^ill  not  affirm  that  such 
evils  uniformly  result  from  such  defections,  nor  that  they  are,  in  all 
cases,  of  sufficient  force  to  interfere  fatally  with  the  successful  prosecu- 
tion of  a  religious  life.  It  is  no  exaggeration,  however,  to  say,  that 
they  are  not  of  rare  occurrence,  and  that  they  are  wont  to  exert  a  very 
pernicious  influence  on  personal  piety. 


14b  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

ular  Christianity  upon  the  persons  most  concerned  ?     How  is 
it  with  the  dainty  scceders  who  loathe  the  manna  that  "cov- 

Evils,  of  a  still  graver  chai'acter  than  any  that  befall  the  individual, 
are  likely  to  follow  such  recreancy.  In  proportion  to  his  position  and 
influence  does  he  inflict  upon  the  Church  and  the  general  interests  of 
religion  the  greatest  calamity ;  not  chiefly  by  withdrawing  his  talents 
and  resources  from  their  appropriate  sphere  of  usefulness,  but  by  griev- 
ing pious  souls — by  awakening  distrust  of  his  own  sincerity,  and  re- 
sentment for  his  recreancy,  and  by  provoking  uncharitableness,  jeal- 
ousy, sectarianism,  and  evil  speaking  in  multitudes  of  professing  Chris- 
tians. I  have  usually  beeu  led  to  doubt  whether  an  influential  layman 
or  a  minister  can  ever  reasonably  expect  to  do  as  much  good  in  any 
new  Church  relations,  as  he  unavoidably  does  harm  by  violating  the 
old.  It  should  be  kept  in  view,  in  estimating  the  probable  effects  of 
such  changes,  that  a  man  never  carries  with  him  into  his  new  field  of 
action  more  than  a  small  portion  of  the  influence,  and  other  means  of 
usefulness,  which  he  had  acquired  by  faithful  services  and  an  upright 
walk.  Of  these  he  is  destined  to  make,  at  least,  a  partial  forfeiture  by 
the  transition,  and  years  must  probably  elapse  before  he  can  regain  the 
vantage  ground  which  he  has  so  lightly  abandoned.  Suspected  or  de- 
nounced by  those  whom  he  deserts,  he  must  pass  a  long  probation  ere 
he  wins  the  confidence  of  his  new  associates. 

Upon  the  iiTeligious  world  the  effect  of  such  instability  is  yet  more 
observable  and  pernicious.  It  leads  to  a  distrust  of  all  pretensions  to 
piety,  and  goes  far  to  confirm  the  too  prevalent  suspicion,  that  when, 
educated  or  influential  men  become  religious,  they  have  commonly 
some  selfish  end  to  subserve.  What  gives  additional  force  to  such  sus- 
picions is  the  notorious  fact  that  the  transition,  frequently  as  it  occurs 
of  late,  is  almost  never  made  where  any  personal  sacrifice,  present  or 
prospective,  is  involved.  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  doubt  that,  in  sev- 
eral instances,  at  least,  educated  men  and  ministers  have  felt  constrain- 
ed to  give  up  old  and  contract  new  Church  I'elations  ;  but  I  can  scarce- 
ly recollect  a  case  in  which  the  change  was  made  in  the  face  of  losses 
or  sufferings.  It  is  usually  from  low  to  higher  salaries — from  more  to 
less  labor  or  exposure — from  less  cultivated,  or  wealthy,  or  fashionable 
communities,  to  those  deemed  more  so.  I  would  not  dare  express  or 
indulge  distrust  in  regard  to  the  motives  which,  in  any  particular  in- 
stance, may  have  led  to  such  changes ;  but  the  facts  to  which  I  have 
adverted  are  incontrovertible  as  they  are  universally  known.  There 
are  few  observing  or  prominent  Christians,  I  apprehend,  who  have  not 
had  some  occasion  to  receive,  in  silence,  the  cutting  rebukes  which  ir- 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  14l 

ers  the  face  of  the  wilderness,"  of  which  "every  man  may- 
gather  according  to  his  eating,"  and  deem  it  distasteful  to 
receive  with  the  multitude,  seated  on  the  ground,  the  bread 
which  Jesus  so  liberally  blesses  and  breaks  ?  Of  all  who 
lightly  turn  away  from  the  lowlier  faith  of  their  early  educa- 
tion and  their  fathers'  house,  to  rear  their  showy  altars  upon 
the  high  places  of  the  land,  whether  seduced  by  vanity,  or 
ambition,  or  fastidiousness,  it  may  well  be  doubted  if  many 
secure  more  than  the  shadow  of  true  religion.  If  they  have 
borne  with  them  to  this  false,  exposed  position,  some  meas 
ure  of  spirituality,  the  growth  of  a  more  fruitful  soil  and  ol' 
a  more  benignant  clime,  it  speedily  withers  and  decays  for 
want  of  a  participation  in  those  popular  sympathies,  from 
which  they  start  back  with  a  disgust  so  profound.     Their 

religious  men  are  accustomed  to  visit  on  such  transactions.  I  am  free 
to  confess  that,  in  my  opinion,  no  measure  of  blame  or  reproaches  can 
possibly  transcend  the  demerits  of  a  man  who,  for  any  reasons  lower 
or  weaker  than  such  as  are  strictly  conscientious  and  constraining,  puts 
in  jeopardy  so  many  of  the  precious  interests  of  religion.  He  betrays 
a  sacred  trust.  Up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  influence,  and  talents,  and 
position,  he  inflicts  a  grievous  wrong  upon  the  communion  in  whose 
bosom  he  has  been  nurtured,  or  into  which  he  has  obtained  admission. 
He  diminishes  its  ability  to  do  good,  and  casts  a  doubt  on  its  purity  or 
orthodoxy.  If  a  minister,  set  apart  and  ordained  as  a  teacher  of  re- 
ligion and  a  dispenser  of  its  holy  saci-aments,  his  power  to  do  evil  is 
greatly  augmented,  and  with  it  the  guilt  of  such  a  defection.  His  new 
investiture  of  ecclesiastical  authority  and  dignity  is  equivalent  to  a  pub- 
lic declaration  that  others  are  but  rash  intruders  into  the  sacred  office. 
He  thus  wounds  their  reputation  and  weakens  their  influence.  As  far 
as  in  him  lies,  he  shakes  the  confidence  of  the  people  in  their  pastors, 
and  despoils  their  message  of  its  power  over  the  sinner's  conscience. 
He  denies  the  character  and  immunities  of  Christ's  ministers,  not  to  a 
few  obscure  individuals,  but  to  nine  tenths  of  all  the  consecrated  men 
upon  whom  the  population  of  this  gi'eat  country  depend  for  religious 
instruction  and  consolation.  I  am  ready  to  admit  that  conviction  may 
be  so  clear  and  controlling  as  to  make  it  a  good  man's  duty  to  act  in  de- 
fiance of  all  these  considerations ;  but  no  sane  mind  can,  for  a  moment, 
hesitate  to  believe,  that  to  do  so  on  lower  grounds  is  one  of  the  gi-avest 
offenses  against  religion  of  which  a  human  being  can  be  guilty. 


142  KESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

dwelling  places  are  unquestionably  on  tlie  Parnassus  or  the 
Olympus  of  the  Clmstian  world ;  but  these  mountain  tops 
have  neither  depth  of  earth,  nor  springs  of  water,  and  no 
plant  of  righteousness  is  likely  to  strike  its  roots  into  the  hard 
rock  that  composes  their  shining  but  arid  summits. 

Such  aristocratic  aspirants  after  a  graceful  piety  (I  call 
them  aristocratic  for  want  of  a  better  term  to  mark  this  per- 
verse development  of  Christianity)  naturally  fall  into  twD 
classes,  and  exhibit  two  great  corruptions  of  the  Gospel. 
The  more  intellectual  and  philosophical  part  commonly  wan- 
der into  that  cold  region  of  unfruitful  speculations,  where  Ra- 
tionalism or  Transcendentalism,  or  whatever  neology  happens 
to  be  in  fashion,  claims  empire.  The  merely  fashionable, 
and  ambitious,  and  fastidious  portion  more  usually  pay  their 
courtly  homage  to  graceful  forms  or  venerable  reminiscences, 
and  find  and  exhibit,  at  least,  some  of  the  semblances  of  spir- 
itual piety  in  the  religion  of  the  imagination.* 

*  The  strong  tendency  iu  our  I'eligious  operations  to  gather  the  rich 
and  the  poor  into  separate  folds,  and  so  to  generate  and  establish  iu  the 
Church  distinctions  utterly  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  our  political  in- 
stitutions, is  the  very  worst  result  of  the  multiplication  of  sects  among 
us ;  and  I  fear  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  evil  is  gi-eatly  aggravated 
by  the  otherwise  benignant  working  of  the  voluutaiy  system.  With- 
out insisting  further  upon  the  probable  or  possible  injuiy  which  may 
befall  our  free  country  from  this  conflict  of  agencies,  ever  the  most 
powerful  in  the  formation  of  national  and  individual  character,  no  one, 
I  am  sure,  can  fail  to  recognize  iu  this  development  an  influence  utterly 
and  irreconcilably  hostile  to  the  genius  and  chei-ished  objects  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  the  peculiar  glory  of  the  Gospel,  that,  even  under  the 
most  arbiti'ary  governments,  it  has  usually  been  able  to  vindicate  and 
practically  exemplify  the  essential  equality  of  man.  It  has  had  one  doc- 
trine and  one  hope  for  all  its  children ;  and  the  highest  and  the  lowest 
have  been  constrained  to  acknowledge  one  holy  law  of  brotherhood  in 
the  common  faith  of  which  they  are  made  partakers.  Nowhere  else, 
I  believe,  but  in  the  United  States  —  certainly  nowhere  else  to  the 
same  extent  —  does  this  anti-Christian  separation  of  classes  prevail  iu 
the  Christian  Church.  The  beggar  in  his  tattered  vestments  walks  the 
splendid  courts  of  St.  Peter's,  and  kneels  at  its  cosily  altars  by  the  sid« 


CHRISTIAN     YOUNG     MEN.  143 

I  can  not  part  with  the  topic  under  consideration  without 
bestowing  a  passuig  thought  upon  the  God-dishonoring  sen- 

of  dukes  and  cardinals.  The  peasant  in  his  wooden  shoes  is  welcomed 
in  the  gorgeous  churches  of  Notre  Dame  and  the  Madeleine;  and  even 
in  England,  where  political  and  social  distinctions  are  more  rigorously 
enforced  than  in  any  other  country  on  earth,  the  lord  and  the  peasant, 
the  richest  and  the  poorest,  are  usually  occupants  of  the  same  church, 
and  partakers  of  the  same  communion.  That  the  reverse  of  all  this  is 
true  in  many  parts  of  this  country,  eveiy  observing  man  knows  full 
well ;  and  what  is  yet  more  deplorable,  whilo  the  lines  of  demarcation 
between  the  different  classes  have  already  become  suflicieutly  distinct, 
the  tendency  is  receiving  new  strength  and  development  in  a  rapidly 
augmenting  ratio.  Even  in  country  j)laces,  where  the  population  is 
sparse,  and  the  artificial  distinctions  of  society  are  little  known,  the 
working  of  this  strange  element  is,  in  many  instances,  made  manifest, 
and  a  petty  coterie  of  village  magnates  may  be  found  worshiping  God 
apart  from  the  body  of  the  people.  But  the  evil  is  much  more  appa- 
rent, as  well  as  more  deeply  seated,  in  our  populous  towns,  where  the 
causes  which  produce  it  have  been  longer  in  operation,  and  have  more 
fully  enjoyed  the  favor  of  circumstances.  In  these  gi'eat  centres  of 
wealth,  intelligence,  and  influence,  the  separation  between  the  classes 
is,  in  many  instances,  complete,  and  in  many  more  the  process  is  rap- 
idly progressive.  There  are  crowded  religious  congi-egations  composed 
so  exclusively  of  the  wealthy  as  scarcely  to  embrace  an  indigent  fam- 
ily or  individual ;  and  the  number  of  such  churches,  where  the  Gospel 
is  never  preached  to  the  poor,  is  constantly  increasing.  Rich  men,  in- 
stead of  associating  themselves  with  their  more  humble  fellow-Chris- 
tians, where  their  money  as  well  as  their  ixifluence  and  counsels  are  so 
much  needed,  usually  combine  to  erect  magnificent  churches,  in  which 
sittings  are  too  expensive  for  any  but  people  of  fortune,  and  from  which 
their  less-favored  brethren  are  as  effectually  and  peremptorily  exclu- 
ded as  if  there  were  dishonor  or  contagion  in  their  presence.  A  congre- 
gation is  thus  constituted,  able,  without  the  slightest  inconvenience,  to 
bear  the  pecuniary  burdens  of  twenty  churches,  monopolizing  and  con- 
signing to  comparative  inactivity  intellectual,  moral,  and  material  re- 
sources, for  want  of  which  so  many  other  congregations  are  doomed  to 
struggle  with  the  most  embaiTassing' difficulties.  Can  it  for  a  moment 
be  thought  that  such  a  state  of  things  is  desirable,  or  in  harmony  with 
the  spirit  and  design  of  the  Gospel  ? 

A  more  diffi.cult  question  arises  when  we  inquire  after  a  remedy  for 
evils  too  glaring  to  be  overlooked,  and  too  grave  to  be  tolerated  with- 


144  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

timents  in  which  this  deplorable  fallacy  has  its  origin.     This 
demand  for  a  Christianity  more  refined  and  tasteful  tlian 

out  an  effort  to  palliate,  if  not  to  remove  them.  The  most  obvious  pal- 
liative, and  one  which  has  already  been  tried  to  some  extent  by  wealthy 
chui-ches  or  individuals,  is  the  erection  of  free  places  of  worship  for  the 
poor.  Such  a  provision  for  this  class  of  persons  would  be  more  effect- 
ual in  any  other  part  of  the  world  than  in  the  United  States.  Wliether 
it  arises  from  the  operation  of  our  political  system,  or  from  the  easy  at- 
tainment of  at  least  the  prime  necessaries  of  life,  the  poorer  classes  here 
are  characterized  by  a  proud  spirit,  which  will  not  submit  to  receive 
even  the  highest  benefits  in  any  form  that  imjjlies  inferiority  or  de- 
pendence. This  strong  and  prevalent  feeling  must  continue  to  inter- 
pose serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  these  laudable  attempts.  If  in  a 
few  instances  churches  for  the  poor  have  succeeded  in  our  large  cities, 
where  the  theory  of  social  equality  is  so  imperfectly  reaUzed  in  the 
actual  condition  of  the  people,  and  where  the  presence  of  a  multitude 
of  indigent  foreigners  tends  to  lower  the  sentiment  of  independence  so 
strong  in  native-born  Americans,  the  system  is  yet  manifestly  incapable 
of  general  application  to  the  religious  wants  of  our  population.  The 
same  difficulty  usually  occurs  in  all  attempts  to  induce  the  humbler 
classes  to  worship  with  the  rich  in  sumptuous  churches  by  reserving 
for  their  benefit  a  portion  of  the  sittings  free,  or  at  a  nominal  rent.  A 
few  only  can  be  found  who  are  willing  to  be  recognized  and  provided 
for  as  beneficiaries  and  paupers,  while  the  multitude  will  always  pre- 
fer to  make  great  sacrifices  in  order  to  provide  for  themselves  in  soma 
humbler  fane.  It  must  bo  admitted  that  this  subject  is  beset  with 
practical  difficulties,  which  are  not  likely  to  be  removed  speedily,  or 
without  some  great  and  improbable  revolution  in  our  religious  affairs. 
Yet  if  the  resjjectable  Christian  denominations  most  concerned  in  the 
subject  shall  pursue  a  wise  and  liberal  policy  for  the  future,  something 
may  be  done  to  chock  the  evil.  They  may  retard  its  rapid  growth, 
perhaps,  though  it  will  most  likely  bo  found  impossible  to  eradicate  it 
altogether.  It  ought  to  be  well  understood,  that  the  multiplication  of 
magnificent  churches  is  daily  making  the  lino  of  demarcation  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor  more  and  more  palpable  and  impassable.  There 
are  many  good  reasons  for  the  erection  of  such  edifices.  Increasing 
wealth  and  civilization  seem  to  call  for  a  liberal  and  tasteful  outlay  in 
behalf  of  religion,  yet  is  it  the  dictate  of  prudence  no  less  than  of  duty 
to  balance  carefully  the  good  and  the  evil  of  every  enterprise.  It 
shruld  over  be  kept  in  mind,  that  such  a  church  virtually  writes  above 
its  sculptured  portals  an  irrevocable  prohibition  to  the  poor,  "  Procu) 
O  procul  este  profani." 


CHRISTIAN     YOUNG     MEN.  115 


that  of  Christ,  proceeds  upon  the  assumption  that  God  is 
specially  pleased  and  honored  by  the  conversion  of  persons  of 

I  will  not  pretend  to  determine  how  far  it  might  be  wise,  even  if  it 
were  practicable,  to  check  the  liberal  spirit  now  so  active  in  multiply- 
ing sumptuous  religious  edifices.     We  have  perhaps  more  encourage- 
ment to  look  in  another  direction  for  the  melioration  desired.     There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  a  general  increase  of  humble,  spiritual  religio:i 
would  operate  as  a  powerful  check  upon  the  pi'evailing  disposition  tD 
prefer  communion  with  opulent  congregations,  rather  than  pursue  tbo 
walks  of  a  lowlier  piety  in  company  with  the  poor.     The  same  good 
ends  would  be  further  jiromoted  by  the  increasing  prevalence  of  a  lib- 
eral catholic  spirit.     A  decided  and  simultaneous  advance  in  piety  and 
charity,  though  it  should  stop  short  of  harmonizing  conflicting  sects  and 
o^iinions,  and  bringing  their  votaries  to  worship  in  a  common  temple, 
might  yet  be  sufficient  to  reach  and  considerably  mitigate  some  of  tho 
greatest  hardships  to  which  I  have  adverted.     In  such  an  improved 
state  of  Christian  sentiment,  a  congregation  or  a  sect,  opulent  iu  intel- 
lectual or  iiecuniary  means,  beyond  the  ratio  of  its  numbers,  might  eas- 
ily confer  the  greatest  benefits  on  the  feeble  and  destitute.     A  wealthy 
denomination,  with  few  of  the  poor  under  its  ministry,  and  with  lit- 
tle access  to  this  class,  would  then  be  inclined  to  aid  those  who  aro 
providentially  called  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  masses.     How  easi- 
ly might  one  of  our  great  metropolitan  churches  relieve  a  dozen  poor 
congregations  from  the  burden  of  debts,  or  other  embarrassments,  un- 
der which  they  are  left  to  straggle  on  from  year  to  year !     What  ines- 
timable benefits  might  a  denomination,  at  once  the  smallest  and  richest, 
confer,  by  aiding  the  poorer  sects  iu  extending  the  blessings  of  religion 
and  education  to  the  vast  multitude  placed  by  divine  Providence  under 
their  influence  and  watchcare !     Now  it  can  hardly  be  doubted,  that 
with  such  an  enlargement  of  charity  as  I  have  supposed,  there  would 
come  more  enlarged  views  of  duty  and  privilege,  and  that  sectarian 
lines  might  cease  to  be  insuperable  barriers  in  the  way  of  a  far  more 
exuberant  and  diffusive  liberality  than  now  prevails.     Under  such  bet- 
ter auspices  it  would,  at  least  be  no  longer  possible  for  opulent,  enlight- 
ened Christian  denominations  to  look  with  hostility  or  even  indifference 
upon  their  fellow-laborers  in  the  vineyard  of  a  common  Master.     The 
sympathies  as  well  as  the  resources  of  the  whole  Christian  Church  would 
look  about  in  quest  of  its  wants  and  substantial  interests ;  while  there 
would  inevitably  arise  bonds  of  brotherhood,  so  many  and  so  strong, 
between  all  the  members  of  the  one  Christian  family,  as  would  go  far 
to  exclude  all  the  petty  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  which  wealth  and 

(i 


146  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

literary  taste  and  polished  manners  ;  of  men  accustomed  to 
good  society,  and  well  read  in  good  authors.  Disguise  it  as 
we  will,  that  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  this  anti-Cloristian 
theory.  Now,  for  aught  that  appears,  these  accompHshments 
do  not  figure  very  largely  in  Heaven's  estimate  of  man.  I 
can  not  help  suspecting  that  John  Bunyan,  John  Nelson,  and 
worthies  of  this  class,  wore,  in  God's  sight,  the  insignia  of  a 
truer  and  higher  nobihty  than  the  choicest  spirits  of  the  brill- 
iant eras  of  Elizabeth  and  Anne. 

What  are  the  attributes  most  prized  and  most  sought  for  in 
man  by  the  crucified  Savior  ?  Charity  and  purity.  These  are 
the  cardinal  virtues  of  the  Gospel.  Every  one  that  loveth 
is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.     If  we  love  one  another, 

position  are  sure  to  provoke  in  the  Church  uo  less  than  in  the  workl, 
when  they  forget  their  proper  mission. 

One  lesson  more,  we  should  imagine,  would  be  ineffaceably  impressed 
upon  those  Christian  denominations  which,  through  providential  means, 
or  their  own  special  adaptations  and  exertions,  monopolize  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  influential  classes,  while  they  have  signally  failed  of  obtain- 
ing a  corresponding  development  among  the  great  body  of  the  iieoi^le. 
It  is  a  lesson  of  enlarged  catholic  liberality.  They  have,  in  their  rela- 
tive position,  a  clear  demonstration,  at  least,  that  others  as  well  as  they 
have  a  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  committed  to  them.  That  surely 
can  not  be  the  only  apostolic  and  legitimate  system  of  faith  or  polity, 
which,  after  an  experiment  carried  through  successive  generations  of 
men,  has,  in  this  country,  shown  itself  essentially  incapable  of  pene- 
trating the  masses.  They  who  evangelize  the  wealthy,  the  intellect- 
ual, and  the  refined,  do  unquestionably  perform  a  good  work ;  and 
there  may  be  those  who  have  a  special  vocation  to  this  inviting  field. 
No  liberal-minded  Christian  will  undervalue  their  efforts,  or  desire  to 
call  in  question  the  genuineness  of  their  piety,  or  the  validity  of  their 
ecclesiastical  system;  but  it  may  be  well  for  all  parties  to  remember 
that  there  are  signs  of  apostleship  older  and  surer  than  this  mission  to 
the  rich ;  and  they  need  not  despair  of  making  good  their  claim  to  a 
part  in  this  ministry  who  can  appeal,  as  their  IVIaster  did,  to  eminent 
success  among  the  masses,  and  affirm,  like  Ilim,  that  through  their  in- 
strumentality "  the  blind  receive  their  sight  and  the  lame  walk,  thfc 
lepers  are  cleansed  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up  and  thi 

POOR  HAVE  THE  GoSPEL  PKEACHED  UNTO  THEM." 


CHRISTIAN    \OUNG    MEN.  147 

God  dwelleth  in  us,  and  his  love  is  perfected  in  us.  God  is 
love,  and  he  that  dvv^elleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God 
in  him.  The  entire  law  is  fulfilled  by  him  who  loves  God 
M'ith  all  the  heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself.  This  is 
glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will 
to  men.  The  Gospel  is  satisfied  when  this  great  end  is 
achieved,  and  it  labors,  from  age  to  age,  to  implant  this  law 
of  universal  affinity  and  brotherhood  in  all  hearts,  and  thus 
to  establish  a  vast  system  of  order  and  Divine  harmony,  wor- 
thy of  the  wisdom  and  of  the  mercy  of  God.  And  this  is  its 
primar)^  proper  object.  High  intellectual  culture,  advanced 
civilization,  refinement  of  sentiments  and  of  manners,  do  in- 
deed attend,  or  rather  follow,  its  progress,  but  only  as  inci- 
dental results  of  the  great  moral  changes  which  have  their 
sphere  in  the  moral  nature  and  character  of  man.  The  mor- 
al transformation  is  all  that  the  Gospel,  as  such,  aims  to  ac- 
complish. This  makes  the  sinner  a  child  of  God,  fits  him 
for  heavenly  society  and  pursuits,  makes  him  a  joint  heir 
with  Christ.  These  are  no  doubtful  announcements,  but  first 
principles  of  the  Gospel,  which  no  sane  Christian  will  for  a 
moment  call  in  question  ;  and  they  suggest  the  irresistible  con- 
clusion that  that  is  the  most  Christian  church,  and  that  the 
most  apostolic  ministrj',  which  most  successfully  accomplish 
these  most  Christian  ends.  No  matter  who  they  are  that  are 
converted,  and  sanctified,  and  brought  to  heaven.  The  ig- 
norant, the  outcast,  the  Hottentot,  the  slave — these  are 
Christ's  well-beloved  brethren,  and  with  Him  heirs  of  God. 
The  princes  of  this  world  may  be  glad  to  go  to  heaven,  if 
they  may,  m  such  company,  and  angels  would  exult  to  be  co- 
workers with  God  in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  What 
lesson  of  instruction  do  I  find  in  this  digression  ?  A  stern  re- 
buke of  that  wretched  fastidiousness  which  refuses  to  be  satis- 
fied with  such  a  type  of  Christianity  as  satisfies  Christ — de- 
monstrative proof  that  this  reiterated  demand  for  a  more  taste- 
ful and  philosophical  religion  is  unreasonable  and  vuiphilo- 


148  RESOURCES     AND    DUTIES    OF 

sophical  as  well  as  unchristian — new  force  in  the  exhortation, 
"  Make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof." 
Would  you  find  for  yourselves  a  religion  adapted  to  the  soul's 
pressing  wants,  and  to  the  demands  of  a  perishing  world  ? 
Drink  deeply  of  the  Christian  sentiments  and  sympathies  of 
the  people.  Would  you  act  a  heroic  part  in  the  holy  war 
which  God  and  good  men  are  carrying  on  against  error  and 
sin  ?  Throw  yourselves  into  the  midst  of  the  masses,  where 
there  are  most  hearts  to  be  won,  and  most  souls  to  he  saved. 
Do  not  be  forever  gazing  at  the  toy  that  glitters  on  the  top  of 
the  steeple,  but  bend  your  regards  upon  the  living  stones  that 
compose  Christ's  holy  temple,  upon  the  undying  souls  that 
throng  its  inner  and  outer  courts.  There  the  true  altar  and 
the  authorized  priest  are  sure  to  be  found,  and  there  God  has 
work  to  do  for  all  who,  like  His  well-beloved  Son,  are  con- 
tent to  abase  themselves  that  they  may  be  exalted. 

I  have  not  left  time  for  the  discussion  of  some  other  topics 
which  I  can  not  wholly  overlook.  Educated  young  men  often 
find  another  stumbling-block  in  the  presumed  or  dreaded  in- 
terference of  an  honest  consecration  to  Christ  with  their  am- 
bitious, and,  as  they  are  prone  to  esteem  them,  their  pure  and 
honorable  aspirations.  My  own  observations  on  this  subject , 
would  lead  me  to  regard  this  as  one  of  the  most  common  and 
fatal  causes  of  backsliding,  as  well  as  procrastination.  Many, 
who  hear  and  recognize  the  voice  of  God,  refuse  to  enter  His 
vineyard,  because  they  are  not  quite  sure  that  the  employ- 
ments and  immunities  to  be  assigned  them  there  will  be 
agreeable  and  satisfactory.  Impiety  never  assumes  a  more 
daring  attitude  than  this,  however  the  rank  offense  may  be 
disguised  or  concealed  by  circumstances,  or  by  false  reason- 
ings. What  is  implied  by  the  postponement  or  abandonment 
of  a  religious  course  on  such  grounds  ?  Distrust  in  God  is 
implied,  and  unbelief  in  its  most  odious,  atrocious,  insolent 
form,  Has  God,  then,  no  right  to  interfere  with  our  plans  ? 
This  mental  discipline,  and  these  accomplislmients,  which 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  149 

are  too  good  to  be  subjected  to  His  control — were  they  ac- 
quired— are  they  held,  on  terms  altogether  independent  ot" 
Jehovah  ?  Is  the  inexperienced  youth,  fresh  from  the  schools, 
and  proverbially  ignorant  of  the  world  and  of  the  future, 
somewhat  better  qualified  to  choose  his  own  way,  and  thread 
the  labyrinth  of  life  alone,  than  God  is  to  guide  him  ?  You 
will  not  be  a  Christian,  because  Christianity  confessedly  as- 
signs you  a  sphere  of  action  where  God  and  conscience  must 
be  consulted.  You  seek  a  freer  range  and  a  wider  sphere 
Take  them,  and  then  inquire  if  you  are  beyond  the  domain 
of  God.  Are  you  really  freer  to  choose  or  surer  to  win  ?  Is 
responsibility  excluded,  or  danger  of  disappointment  and  dis- 
aster ?  No  ;  for  God  reigns  every  where.  All  that  is  gained 
by  this  daring  rcA'olt  against  His  authority  is  the  dire  privi- 
lege of  working  out  our  destiny  without  any  promise  of  guid- 
ance, or  grace,  or  reward,  yet  always  under  the  Divine  su- 
pervision and  control — always  in  conflict  with  His  revealed 
will — always  obnoxious  to  His  displeasure,  and  certain  of  ul- 
timate ruin,  whatever  fortunes  may  be  conceded  to  a  career 
which  is,  at  best,  only  a  prolonged  rebellion  against  God. 

After  saying  so  much  of  the  rehgious  aspects  of  this  case, 
I  must  not  omit  to  expose  the  shallow  views  of  life  on  which 
this  great  practical  error  is  based.  As  a  class,  truly  pious 
men  are  the  most  fortunate  in  the  world.  Estimate  their 
successes  by  honors  won,  by  their  usefulness,  by  their  attain- 
ments, or  by  their  enjoyments,  and  these  persons  greatly  out- 
strip their  competitors.  I  will  not  stop  to  inquire  why  it  is  so, 
though  I  doubt  not  there  is  in  the  thing  both  a  divine  Prov- 
idence and  a  divine  philosophy.  Heaven  guides  and  cheers 
on  the  man  who  is  content  to  receive  his  com^^mission  ftom 
above,  while  the  virtues  and  safeguards  of  religion  do  natu- 
rally minister  to  his  successes  even  in  secular  pursuits.  The 
fact,  however,  is  all  I  contend  for  here.  Common  experience 
is  a  demonstration  that  godliness  is  profitable  for  this  life,  as 
well  as  that  to  come.     It  is  something  more  than  impiety — 


150  KESOUUCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

it  is  gross,  blind  folly  for  a  young  man,  setting  out  in  life,  to 
guard  against  the  disturbing  influence  of  religion  in  the  set- 
tlement of  his  plans.  God  is  likely  to  be  his  wisest  coun- 
selor and  his  most  powerful  auxiliary,  and  to  exalt  him  in 
proportion  to  the  humility  of  his  submission  to  the  divine  au- 
thority. 

I  must  add  another  remark.  It  is  vinquestionably  true 
that  piety  often  promotes,  while  it  seldom  retards,  a  man's 
progress  in  the  world.  It  is  no  less  so,  and  no  less  proper  to 
mark  the  fact,  that  men  who  seek  to  make  of  religious  pre- 
tensions and  church  relations  instruments  of  ambition  or 
gain,  are  almost  sure  of  meeting  with  signal  disappointment. 
Success  in  such  attempts  would  ofler  a  dangerous  temptation 
to  human  virtue,  and  fill  the  churches  with  hypocrites  ;  but 
success  in  such  attempts,  in  such  a  country  as  this,  where 
the  government  is  neutral,  and  all  sects  have  fair  play,  is 
nearly  impossible.  Aristocracy  in  religion  meets  with  a  po- 
tent antagonist  in  the  legal  and  social  democracy  that  uni- 
versally prevails.  Proscription  for  religious  opinions  is  near- 
ly impracticable  in  any  form,  where  there  is  a  multitude  of 
sects,  and  the  weak  are  prone  to  unite  against  any  encroach- 
ment by  the  strong.  In  such  a  state  of  things  there  is  an 
open  field  for  industry  and  merit,  in  which  no  sectarian  badge 
can  win  or  lose  the  prize.  There  is  no  reward  for  the  hypoc- 
risy which  would  profess,  or  the  base  cowardice  or  heartless 
prudence  which  would  shun  to  profess  any  opinion,  or  bear 
any  name,  for  selfish  objects.  The  temptation  to  sin  in  this 
matter  is  really  so  weak  that  there  is  little  need  of  provid- 
ing any  safeguard  against  it  beyond  a  statement  such  as  has 
been  made.  Neither  cupidity  nor  vanity  has  much  to  gain 
by  "  making  provision  for  the  flesh,"  when  neither  emolu- 
ment nor  influence  is  to  be  won  by  recreancy  to  principle. 

The  short-sighted  ambition  which  covets  higher  and  bright- 
er spheres  of  eftbrt  and  manifestation  than  comport  with  the 
claims  of  duty  or  the  arrangements  of  Providence,  is  wont  to 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  15- 


fall  into  another  capital  error.  In  paying'  to  circumstances 
their  vain  court  lor  facilities  and  rewards,  seldom  granted  but 
as  the  fruit  of  patient  labor  and  practical  self-denial,  these 
impatient  aspirants  after  distinction  are  insensibly  led  away 
from  the  only  theatre  of  action  adapted  to  their  character  and 
attainments.  Talent  is  ever  best  developed,  and  commonly 
best  rewarded,  where  it  is  most  wanted.  It  should  therefore 
ivspect  the  great  laws  of  demand  and  supply  ;  and  while  the 
wide  earth  and  boundless  sea  are  open  to  its  enterprise,  should 
never  press  too  eagerly  into  petty,  glutted  marts.  An  educa- 
ted Christian  young  man,  who,  in  all  the  attainable  good  be- 
fore hi«i,  has  eyes  to  see  something  better  and  nobler  than 
mere  pecuniary  gain,  can  not  fail  to  perceive  a  most  hopeful 
field  of  usefulness  in  his  connection  with  one  of  the  great  pop- 
ular Christian  denominations  of  this  country.  It  is  unavoid- 
able', that  among  the  vast  multitudes,  so  rapidly  gathered  into 
these  broad  folds  by  primitive  zeal  and  labors,  many  will  lact 
culture,  and  intelligence,  and  refinement.  Education  and  lit 
erature,  polished  eloquence,  and  profound  learning,  naturally  ' 
follow,  though  they  seldom  precede  the  greatest  successes  of 
young  and  rising  sects.  When  such  wants  are  most  pressing, 
precisely  then  is  there  likely  to  exist  the  most  urgent  demand 
for  such  qualifications  to  satisfy  them. 

A  religious  community  whose  successes  have  outstripped 
all  its  anticipations,  suddenly  finds  itself  responsible  for  the 
intellectual,  as  well  as  nwral  improvement  of  millions.  It 
has  reached  a  point  in  its  history  where  a  demand  for  cul- 
tivated talent  is  of  the  most  urgent  character.  It  must 
have  educated  men ;  and  literary  attainment,  when  united 
with  piety  and  good  sense,  is  sure  to  be  placed  in  positions 
the  most  favorable  for  the  efficient  exertion  of  extensive  and 
salutary  influence.  It  almost  necessarily  happens  that  learn- 
ing, and  eloquence,  and  refinement,  acquire  a  consideration 
and  a  power  to  do  good,  great  in  proportion  to  their  scarcity, 
and  to  the  multitude  of  demands  upon  such  qualifications. 


152  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

Just  such  a  theatre  as  enhghtencd,  sanctified  ambition  should 
most  desire,  is  here  opened  to  the  Christian  youth.  It  prof- 
fers useful,  congenial,  and  honorable  employment.  It  insures 
the  earliest,  fullest  development  of  his  mental  and  moral  re- 
sources. It  promises  all  reasonable  and  desirable  exemption 
from  the  tedious  probation  and  discouraging  competitioii 
which  he  may  be  doomed  to  encounter  elsewhere.  It  oilers 
him  equal  and  honorable  partnership  in  the  holy  work  of 
training  a  host  of  immortal  beings  for  usefulness,  purity,  hap- 
piness, and  heaven. 

The  folly  of  turning  away  from  these  outspread  fields  wav- 
ing with  golden  harvests,  and*echoing  all  around  with  Ma- 
cedonian cries  for  more  laborers,  is  only  less  than  the  guilt 
which  is  always  superadded,  when,  in  addition  to  this  con- 
tempt for  the  suggestions  of  a  sound  discretion,  some  violence 
is  also  inflicted  upon  the  conscience.  And  here  I  can  not 
refrain  from  a  passing  remark  on  the  benignant  relations 
which  religion  ever  sustains  to  the  practical  movements  of 
business  and  of  life.  So  nicely  and  so  graciously  is  the  great 
scheme  of  an  overruling,  watchful  Providence  adapted  to  our 
various  circumstances,  that  the  most  inexperienced  youth — 
the  merest  novice  in  aflairs — has  little  more  to  do  than  sim- 
ply to  obey  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  conscience,  in  or- 
der to  secure  all  the  advantages  of  the  most  comprehensive 
and  well-digested  plans,  and  of  the  deepest  insight  into  the 
future.  An  unwavering  trust  in  God  and  his  word  is  the 
best  guide,  as  well  as  the  best  safeguard.  It  is  a  great  sim- 
plifier  of  life's  complicated  pursuits,  and  endows  each  single- 
hearted  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  with  a  precocious,  heavenly 
wisdom. 

In  any  thing  I  have  said,  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that 
both  our  actual  piety  and  our  Christian  profession  may  not 
involve  the  most  serious  consequences.  I  know  too  well  the 
genius  of  the  Gospel  to  inculcate  a  doctrine  so  foreign  from 
its  avowals  and  its  spirit.     Great  suflerings  and  great  sacri- 


CIimSTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  153 

fices  do,  unquestionably,  enter  into  God's  entire  scheme  ibr 
dili'using  and  propagating  the  true  religion,  and  for  the  moral 
discipline  of  individuals.  Christ  was  made  perfect  by  suiier- 
ing,  and  through  much  tribulation  we  arc  called  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Afflictions  work  out  for  the 
saints  an  exceeding  weight  of  glory.  Not  only  arc  Christians 
subject  to  the  common  lot  of  mortals,  which  is  usually  one  of 
many  pains  and  sorrows,  but  they  are  often  called  to  suffer  for 
Christ's  sake.  It  is  fundamental  to  the  Christian  system  that 
men  were  redeemed  by  sufl'ering,  and  hardly  less  so,  as  far 
as  history  is  our  teacher,  that  the  best  achievements  of  the 
Gospel  are  to  be  carried  in  the  midst  of  peril,  and  loss,  and 
agony.  In  this  great  work  of  toil  and  sacrifice,  it  is,  no 
doubt,  the  will  of  God  that  young  men,  and  educated  young 
men,  shall  have  a  principal  share.  God  chooses  them  be- 
cause they  are  strong,  and  He  intends  to  make  them  the  chief 
of  His  instruments  for  the  accomplishment  of  His  great  de- 
signs of  mercy.  Let  them  look  their  calling  fairly  in  the  face, 
and  enter  on  the  career  of  duty,  well  aware  of  the  conditions 
upon  which  they  serve  a  crucified  Redeemer.  None  more 
need  to  stir  up  the  gift  that  is  within  them,  to  gird  about  their 
loins,  and  -put  on  the  armor  of  righteousness.  I  may  safely 
say  that  no  policy  is  so  dangerous  as  caution  and  cowardice. 
I  may  confidently  warn  them  of  the  folly  and  danger  of  "  ma- 
king provision  for  the  flesh,"  by  refraining  from  such  a  dedi- 
cation as  may  exact  from  them  the  sternest  conditions  known 
to  our  Christian  vocation.  If  great  results  can  be  attained 
by  great  eflbrts  and  great  sufferings,  what  generous  heart 
will  refuse  the  sacrifice  ?  If  our  own  holiness  and  the  hap- 
piness of  others  may  be  promoted  in  proportion  to  the  expend- 
iture of  toil,  or  talent,  or  wealth,  who  will  not  feel  that  the 
outlay  is  reasonable  and  even  politic  ? 

But  the  argument  likely  to  be  most  effectual  with  ingen- 
uous and  truly  pious  minds  is  derived  from  the  genius  of  our 
religion.     The  Gospel  is  a  way  of  salvation  by  grace.     It 
G  2 


104  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

lays  the  Christian  under  obligations  immeasurably  strong, 
which  he  can  never  satisfy,  while  it  awakens  in  him  a  sense 
of  gratitude  ever  restless  and  studious  of"  methods  by  which 
it  may  testify  its  loyalty,  and  crown  with  honor  the  great 
Benefactor,  who  is  too  high  to  be  repaid  for  all  His  mercies. 
This  deep,  undying  sentiment  of  the  pious  soul  finds  utter- 
ance in  thanksgiving  and  adoration — in  prayer  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  in  all  the  ways  by  which 
a  sincere  Christian  makes  manifestation  of  his  piety.  But 
the  un wasted,  struggling  impulse  gains  strength  by  all  its  ac- 
tivities, and  longs  for  new  modes  of  exercise  and  develop- 
ment. Dissatisfied  Avith  the  lutie  it  can  do  for  the  gloiy  of  the 
Savior,  it  would  gladly  give  its  testimony  by  sufiering.  This 
feeling  is  natural ;  and  it  is  strong  in  every  bosom  in  propor- 
tion as  piety  is  profound  and  intense.  It  has  led  many  mis- 
guided Christians  to  devote  themselves  to  penances  and  vol- 
untary inflictions.  It  led  the  apostles  to  rejoice  "  that  they 
were  counted  worthy  to  sufier  for  Christ."  Paul  avowed  a 
desire  to  endure  martyrdom  for  the  satisfaction  of  this  pro- 
found sentiment,  and  many  early  Christians  joyfully* submit- 
ted to  the  severest  tortures  as  a  testimony  of  their  devotion 
and  gratitude  to  Christ.  Not  many  in  these  days  of  peace 
and  toleration  are  likely  to  be  called  to  pass  through  such  an 
ordeal ;  but  if  the  spirit  to  sufier  the  loss  of  all  things  for 
Christ's  sake  be  not  still  with  us,  then  has  the  true  glory  of 
the  Church  perished  with  her  martyrs.  Doubtless  this  spirit 
yet  lives,  and  would  be  made  manifest  by  fitting  occasions. 
Doubtless  there  are  multitudes  who  would  encounter  losses 
of  all  sorts — privations,  labors,  and  even  death  itself — for  the 
crucified  Redeemer.  They  remember  His  words,  that  if  any 
love  father,  or  mother,  or  brother,  or  sister,  or  houses,  or 
lands,  more  than  Him,  he  can  not  be  a  disciple.  They  re- 
member that  it  is  often  more  prudent  to  lose  the  life^than  to 
save  it.  Many  even  feel  that  they  have  a  baptism  to  be 
baptized  with,  and  are  straitened  till  they  perform  it.     They 


CHRISTIAN    YOUNG     MEN.  155 


are  eager  to  live",  and,  if  needs  be,  to  die  for  Christ.  They 
have  "  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  made  no  provision 
for  the  flesh  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof."  Their  cry  is,  "  Speak, 
Lord,  thy  servant  heareth."  They  are  not  careful  to  make 
conditions.  Wheresoever  God's  Spirit  or  Providence  vi'ill  lead, 
they  stand  ready  to  go  ;  neither  do  they  call  any  thing  their 
own  which  they  possess,  whether  of  talent,  learning,  position, 
wealth,  or  influence  ;  but  regard  themselves  only  as  stewards 
of  the  manifold  grace  of  God,  and  servants  to  the  Church  for 
Christ's  sake.  These  are  Christians  such  as  Christ  came 
down  from  heaven  to  raise  up.  They  are  the  messengers  of 
His  mercy — ministers  of  grace.  Their  hearts  throb  in  unison 
with  Christ's — their  ears  are  open  to  every  Macedonian  cry. 
The  Church,  this  country,  the  age,  and  state  of  the  world, 
want  such  Christians,  and  only  want  enough  such  speedily 
to  cover  the  earth  with  righteousness. 

I  have  no  higher  wish  on  behalf  of  the  young  men  whom 
I  now  address,  than  to  see  them  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  such  a  religion  as  I  have  attempted  to  exhibit.  Put 
on,  my  jfriends,  put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make 
not  provision  for  the  flesh  to  fulfill  the  lusts  thereof.  I  may 
claim  to  feel  the  profoundcst  interest  in  your  welfare,  but  I 
am  not  afraid  to  trust  you  to  the  gsidance  of  such  auspices. 
Go  forth  clad  in  these  robes  of  purity  and  beauty,  protected 
by  this  impenetrable  annor  of  righteousness,  and  none  M^ho 
love  you  will  have  any  thing  to  fear  or  to  desire  beyond. 
Christ  will  guide  you  aright.  Precisely  into  such  positions  as 
are  best  suited  to  your  talents,  and  most  adapted  to  useful- 
ness, will  He  be  sure  to  lead  you.  And  this  is  the  only  waj' 
for  attaining  at  once  the  highest  happiness  and  the  most  per- 
fect development  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers.  Here 
you  are  sure  of  having  "grace  sufficient  for  you,"  and  that 
is  the  only  sure  pledge  and  hope  for  eminent  success.  Here 
alone  you  secure  that  harmony  and  co-operation  of  the  moral 
with,  the  mental  forces ;  that  concun'ence  of  the  emotions 


156  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

with  the  intellect,  indispensable  to  the  fulkst  development 
and  the  highest  achievements  of  a  human  being. 

I  shall  close  by  making  of  the  exhortation  in  the  text  a 
special  application  to  those  who  hear  me.  I  am  too  inti- 
mate with  the  liabilities  and  the  actual  history  of  young 
men  not  to  be  aware  that  many  of  them  act  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  lessons  inculcated  in  this  discourse.  They  de- 
liberately "put  off  i\iQ  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and  that  for  the 
very  purpose  of  making  provision  for  satisfying  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh.  They  have  found  unexpected  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  a  rehgious  life  on  their  first  entrance  upon  the  scenes 
of  public  education.  The  buoyancy  and  the  levity  of  youth, 
the  confluence  of  a  multitude  of  petty  temptations,  small  but 
eager  rivalries,  new  demands  upon  time,  and  a  new  arrange- 
ment of  their  hours,  the  espri^  du  coiys  which  too  often  op- 
erates to  an  extent  incompatible  with  an  easy  discharge  of 
the  highest  moral  duties  ;  these,  and  many  more  nameless 
evils,  often  combine  to  test  whatever  integrity  and  strength 
of  religious  principle  and  habit  the  inexperienced  youth  may 
have  brought  from  more  quiet  scenes  to  the  threshold  of  col- 
lege life.  A  brief  season  of  trial,  a  manly  bearing  in  the  face 
of  danger,  an  honest  recurrence  to  first  principles — more  than 
all,  humble  reliance  upon  God,  and  a  conscientious  observ- 
ance of  the  duties  of  religion,  would  soon  overcome  difficul- 
ties which  are  only  formidable  from  their  novelty  and  their 
number.  At  this  precise  point,  not  a  few,  who  come  among 
us  with  the  fairest  promise,  abandon  their  religion.  Some 
do  it  with  apparent  deliberation,  and  at  once  ;  others  grad- 
ually, and,  it  may  be,  insensibly,  but  none  the  less  efiectual- 
ly  and  fatally.  A  vague  purpose  is  commonly  cherished  of 
resuming  it  again  under  more  favorable  auspices,  when  tempt- 
ations shall  be  fewer  or  weaker,  and  better  helps  available. 
But  for  the  present  they  put  off  Christ,  and  get  their  educa- 
tion and  form  their  character  without  Him,  seeming  to  re 
gard  themselves  more  free  than  before  to  indulge  in  doubtful 


CllItlSTIAN    YOUNG    MEN.  -  157 


pleasures  and  associations,  and  still  more  to  omit  the  distinct- 
ive duties  and  manifestations  of  a  Christian  profession.  If 
conscience  at  first  interpose  some  obstacles  in  the  way  o'f  such 
a  defection,  it  soon  accommodates  itself  with  a  vicious  facil- 
ity to  the  cherished  inclinations  of  the  heart. 

I  have  often  seen  a  hopefully  pious  youth  thus  throw  away 
his  armor  in  the  day  of  battle,  putting  off  Christ  just  when 
he  most  needs  to  put  him  on — entering  on  a  career  of  many 
dangers  without  religion,  just  because  he  thinks  it  will  be 
difficult  or  mipleasant  to  get  along  with  religion.  He  thus 
fairly  uncovers  his  bosom  to  the  envenomed  shaft.  He  in- 
vites, yea,  compels  God  to  forsake  him,  and  then  rushes  blind 
and  naked  into  the  midst  of  his  foes.  I  speak,  young  gentle- 
men, of  an  experience  not  unknown  among  you — not  to  re- 
proach, but  to  warn.  Some  may  have  gone  so  far  in  this 
downward  career,  and  have  drunken  so  deeply  of  the  cup  of 
cursing  which  they  have  chosen,  that  the  voice  of  affection- 
ate admonition  will  be  lost  upon  them.  Not  so,  I  trust,  with 
others  who  hear  me.  The  agony  is  not  yet  over  with  them. 
Shamefully  have  they  slighted,  deeply  have  they  grieved 
the  Savior ;  but  their  hearts  yet  beat  quickly  and  sorrow- 
fully when  they  look  upon  Him  whom  they  have  pierced. 
You  who  have  made  a  trial  of  this  style  in  religion,  say,  Is 
it  satisfactoiy  ?  Does  it  shield  you  in  the  day  of  peril  ?  The 
enjoyments,  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  for  which  you  have  pro- 
vided at  such  enomious  expense,  are  they,  upon  the  whole, 
better  than  the  peace  of  God  and  the  love  of  Christ  which 
you  have  lost  ?  If  you  look  back  with  desire  and  self-re- 
proach, then  you  have  still  a  taste  and  a  conscience  for  bet- 
ter things,  and  may,  I  trust  will,  rally  and  struggle  to  regain 
the  position  you  have  rashly  abandoned. 

Those  who  are  about  to  leave  this  arena  of  preparation  to 
enter  upon  new  scenes  of  life,  and  engage  in  fresh  enterprises, 
I  beseech  to  listen  to  the  instruction?  of  this  occasion.  Do 
not  venture  to  take  a  step  into  this  dark,  troublesome  world, 


158         •  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES    OF 

now  opening  Ijefore  you,  without  a  divine  guide.  You  I  may 
exhort  witli  special  emphasis,  "  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfill  the 
lusts  thereof."  Fear  to  move  in  the  grave  matter  of  choos- 
ing your  profession,  and  forming  the  more  permanent  plans 
and  relations  of  life,  before  you  assume  your  proper  religious 
position,  and  are  thus  enabled  to  act  under  divine  direction. 
You  may  not  neglect  this  duty  without  incurring  the  entire 
forfeiture  of  God's  promises  and  grace.  Let  me  inquire  of 
you,  with  an  earnestness  and  solemnity  befitting  the  import- 
ance of  the  interests  involved,  whether  you  have  hitherto  been 
true  to  your  convictions  of  duty — whether  your  plans  of  life 
ha\T3  thus  far  been  fomied  prayerfully  and  conscientiously, 
in  the  best  moods  of  your  religious  feelings,  when  you  most 
fully  appreciated  Christ's  supreme  claims  ?  Are  there  not 
in  your  bosoms  half-stifled  convictions,  slumbering  recollec- 
tions of  unpaid  vows,  made  under  circumstances  of  deepest  so- 
lemnity ?  Look  over  these  archives  of  conscience  with  heed- 
ful deliberation.  Resolutions,  form.ed  when  your  bosoms  glow- 
ed with  zeal  and  love  for  Christ,  are  most  likely  to  be  the 
wisest  and  the  best.  Bring  yourselves  back  to  the  same  mor- 
al attitude,  and  review  these  high,  holy  purposes,  under  the 
sarfie  clear  manifestations  that  led  to  their  formation,  or  you 
are  likely  to  sin  against  your  own  souls  irretrievably.  "Put 
ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and  then  choose  your  way  un- 
der his  divine  auspices.  See  to  it  that  you  make  no  provision 
for  the  flesh  in  this  deeply  interesting  crisis  of  your  endless 
being.  For  God's  sake  do  not  blunder  here.  Remember 
you  choose  for  eternity,  and  that  an  error  at  this  point  must 
give  a  wrong  direction  to  all  your  future  career.  You  de- 
termine Avhat  you  will  do  for  Christ,  and  for  men,  and  for 
your  own  souls.  Choose  honestly  ;  choose  bravely  ;  fearing 
no  labors,  or  crosses,  or  sufTerings.  Better  far  than  honors  or 
crowns  are  the  sacrifices  which  fidelity  to  Christ  shall  impose 
upon  you. 


CHRISTIAN     YOUNG     MEN.  159 

There  is  among  our  educated  Christian  young  men  a  griev- 
ous oflense,  so  common  as  to  have  become  a  sign  of  the  times, 
and  so  full  of  evil  tendencies  as  to  call  loudly  for  exposure  and 
denunciation.  I  refer  to  the  levity  with  which  so  many  treat 
their  early  vows  of  consecration  to  the  Christian  ministry. 
Under  convictions  of  duty  and  of  a  heavenly  calling,  always 
deeply  felt  and  gratefully  recognized  in  seasons  of  high  re- 
ligious enjoyment  and  spiritual  devotion,  they  begin  or  pros- 
ecute their  literary  career  as  a  preparatory  training  for  the 
sacred  office.  With  seasons  of  depression  or  declension  coine 
doubts,  and  reluctance,  and  dissatisfaction  with  plans  of  life 
which  really  present  few  alluring  aspects  to  the  lukewarm, 
worldly-minded  Christian.  Such  occasions  are  often  chosen 
for  testing  the  validity  of  the  call  to  a  work  involving  niiLuy 
sacrifices,  and  for  which  high  spirituality  and  entire  conse- 
cration to  Christ  are  confessedly  indispensable  qualifications. 
It  is  then  no  difficult  task  to  discover  deficiencies  which  the 
least  sensitive  conscience  must  feel,  and  which  there  is  even 
a  strong  temptation  to  magnify  as  the  means  of  obtaining  a 
release  from  obligations  hitherto  deemed  sacred  and  inviola- 
ble. I  have  briefly  indicated  the  process  by  which  many  of 
our  Christian  students,  designated  for  the  ministry  by  the 
most  unequivocal  marks  of  a  divine  vocation,  contrive  to  stifle 
their  own  convictions,  and  elude  the  sacred  claims  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  crucified  Savior.  I  can  truly  affirm  that 
no  other  instances  of  religious  defection  and  recreancy  to  sa- 
cred duties  are  wont  to  fill  me  with  a  sorrow  so  profound  and 
inconsolable.  I  habitually  look  upon  pious  students  with  the 
deepest  interest,  as  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  property  of  Christ, 
not  only  as  the  purchase  of  his  blood  and  the  trophies  of  grace, 
but  as  the  probable  and  fit  instruments  to  be  chosen  for  the 
enlargement  of  his  kingdom.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  many 
so  providentially  prepared  by  literary  training  should  be  di- 
vinely called  to  the  ministry  of  reconciliation ;  and  it  is  mat- 
ter of  unfeigned  thankfulness,  but  none  of  surprise,  that  so 


IGC  RESOURCES     AND    DUTIES     OF 

large  a  proportion  of  converted  students  become  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  duty  of  devoting  themselves  to  this  great 
Avork.  Few,  I  believe,  wlio  maintain  a  devotional,  cross- 
bearing  spirit,  ever  fall  into  serious  or  lasting  doubts  about 
the  authenticity  of  their  heavenly  calling.  They  may  bo 
permitted  to  pass  through  seasons  of  trial  and  self-examina 
tion  for  the  establishment  of  their  faith,  and  for  the  attain- 
ment of  a  higher  moral  preparation  for  the  exigencies  of  their 
holy  vocation  ;  but  few  sincere  souls,  I  am  persuaded,  will 
ever  be  left  to  discard,  as  the  result  of  fancy  or  of  enthusiasm, 
these  awful  impressions  of  the  highest  duty. 

They  who  have  bqgn  seduced  by  ambition,  or  indolence,  or 
unbelief,  or  self-indulgence,  from  the  higher  walks  of  piety, 
do,  indeed,  bring  upon  themselves  a  moral  state  to  which  dis- 
trust, and  distaste,  and  absolute  repugnance,  in  regard  to  their 
proper  mission,  are  natural  and  unavoidable.  They  are  no 
longer  fit  to  be  ministers  of  Christ ;  but  this  does  not  annul 
their  call  nor  its  binding  obligations.  The  burden  rests  upoii 
them  none  the  less  because  the  strength  to  bear  it  is  gone. 
They  have  clearly  fallen  into  the  snare  of  the  devil,  and 
there  is  only  one  way  of  escape.  They  must  revert  to  first 
principles,  or  be  irretrievably  ruined.  They  must  return  to 
their  first  love — must  revisit  the  sunny  regions  of  Divine 
grace  and  manifestation,  where  clear  convictions  and  holy 
aspirations  domineer  over  the  soul — where  love,  and  faith, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  impart  strength  to  sustain  and 
light  to  guide.  There  is  really  no  other  alternative  besides 
such  a  spiritual  revival,  for  any  who  lack  the  nerve  to  con- 
clude that  they  can  get  along,  in  life  and  in  death,  wdthout 
a  Savior.  To  keep  this  an  open  question,  with  some  latent 
floating  piu-posc  to  take  advantage  of  a  day  of  feeble  im- 
pulses and  dim  manifestation  for  sliding  away  into  a  secular 
profession,  is  to  impose  upon  the  mind  and  the  heart  an  in 
tolerable  burden,  the  ominous  pledge  of  comfortless  progress, 
and  of  ultimate  shameful  discomfiture.     The  interests  of  both 


CHRISTIAN     YOUNG     MKN.  161 

worlds  are  equally  concerned  in  such  a  choice  of  occupation 
as  shall  leave  the  conscience  free  to  approve,  and  God  free 
to  patronize. 

To  those  who  are  rather  timid  than  rebellious,  and  have 
still  a  stronger  desire  to  win  the  crown  than  dread  of  bear- 
ing the  cross,  it  may  be  right  to  point  out  the  vast  resources 
placed  at  their  disposal,  and  of  which  they  receive  the  invest- 
iture on  assuming  their  true  position  ;  but  it  must,  after  ail, 
be  admitted  to  be  the  mark  of  a  degraded  moral  tone  for  a 
Christian  man  to  manifest  much  anxiety  for  any  thing  be- 
yond the  doing  of  his  duty.  It  has  been  well  said  that  events 
belong  to  God  ;  and,  it  may  be  added,  thai  we  are  likely  to  be 
made  happier,  as  well  as  better  and  abler  men,  by  every  en- 
counter with  difficulties  and  every  blast  of  adversity.  These 
are  God's  chosen  methods  of  discipline,  and  His  appointed  con- 
ditions of  all  eminent  success.  So  true  is  this,  even  in  ccm- 
mon  life,  that  we  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  the  most  un- 
favorable auguries  of  an  educated  young  man,  who,  in  his 
plans  of  life,  makes  an  over-careful  provision  for  self-indul- 
gence, and  an  exemption  from  severe  toils  and  trials.  If  he 
will  not  push  from  the  shore  till  he  has  taken  pledges  for  a 
smooth  sea  and  a  favorable  breeze — if  he  must,  at  all  events, 
have  sumptuous  fare,  and  fine  linen,  and  houses  of  cedar,  he 
insists  on  conditions  which  neither  Heaven  nor  earth  will 
grant,  and  which  are  wholly  incompatible  with  the  perform- 
ance of  great  actions,  or  the  formation  of  great  characters. 
In  religion,  this  timid,"  selfish  spirit,  to  whatever  extent  it 
may  exist,  is  subversive  of  the  best  principles  of  the  Gospel. 
It  is  utterly  incompatible  with  faith,  and  in  itself  a  mortal 
sin.  "We  may  not  inquire  too  anxiously  what  Christ  will  de- 
mand of  VIS  in  return  for  the  blood  He  has  shed  and  the  heav- 
en He  has  prepared  for  us  ;  but  we  know  He  will  have  noth- 
ing less  than  entire  consecration,  and  that  we  are  to  be 
ever  ready,  "  not  only  to  be  bound,  but  also  to  die  for  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."     It  is  precisely  at  this  point  of  en- 


1G2  RESOURCES    AND    DUTIES,    ETC. 


tire  self-renunciation  that  the  soul  becomes  endowed  with  the 
power  of  an  endless  life,  and  can  do  all  things  through  Christ. 
If  this  is  an  excellent  attainment,  usually  reserved  for  ad- 
vanced piety  and  matured  graces,  it  may,  nevertheless,  be 
come  the  starting-point  of  every  Christian  young  man.  Let 
him  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  no  provision  for 
the  flesh,  and  he  obtains  the  mastery  over  all  resources,  hu- 
man and  divine,  needful  to  the  fulfillment  of  a  glorious  des- 
tiny 


CHRISTIJIN    PRINCIPLE,    ETC.  163 


III. 

THE  RELATIOxNS  OF  CHRISTIAN  TRINCIPLE  TO  MENTAL 
CULTURE. 

A  DISCOURSE  TO   THE  GRADUATING  CLASS  OF   THE  WESLEYAN 
UNIVERSITY.       1848. 

As  he  thiuketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. — Prov.,  xxiii.,  7. 

It  is  a  recognized  principle  of  ethical  philosophy,  no  less 
than  of  the  Gospel,  that  the  quality  of  actions,  considered  as 
virtuous  or  vicious,  resides  wholly  in  the  intention.  The  ex- 
ternal bodily  movement,  which  we  term  the  action,  and 
which  is  the  apparent  cause  of  the  effect  produced,  has  real- 
ly no  moral  character.  It  is  neither  good  nor  evil  in  itself; 
and  in  forming  our  judgment  of  human  conduct,  we  might 
reject  the  external  manifestation  altogether,  had  we  some 
other  clew  to  the  mental  condition  of  which  it  is  the  expo- 
nent. But  "the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit."  It  is  by  atten- 
tively observing  the  actions  of  men  that  we  are  enabled  to 
arrive  at  satisfactory  conclusions  concerning  their  intention?, 
which  alone  are  deserving  of  either  praise  or  blame.  "  As 
he  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  He  may  be  a  thorough- 
ly good  man — "pure  in  heart,"  just  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and 
yet,  through  some  fault  of  his  position,  or  some  negligence,  or 
some  untowardness  in  his  methods  of  manifestation,  he  may 
impress  the  beholder  unfavorably — may  incur  a  most  unde- 
sirable reputation.  He  may,  on  the  contrary,  studiously  main- 
tain all  the  decencies  and  semblances  of  many  virtues  ;  may, 
for  sinister  or  selfish  ends,  perform  good  deeds,  rivaling  in 
their  number  and  usefulness  the  highest  achievements  of  the 
most  approved  and  unquestionable  piety,  without  making  the 


It54  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE     IN 

slightest  approach  toward  the  fulfillment  of  his  duties  as  a 
moral  being  :  "  As  he  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  Out- 
ward performances  are  of  no  worth  apart  from  the  motives 
in  which  they  originate.  The  same  overt  act  is  either  a 
virtue  or  a  crime,  accoi-ding  to  the  intention  of  the, agent. 
Several  men  bestow  money  upon  a  poor  neighbor  :  the  first 
gives  it  as  the  price  of  waylaying  an  enemy  ;  the  second,  to 
purchase  a  vote ;  the  third,  to  relieve  pressing  want ;  the  last, 
as  the  steward  and  dispenser  of  God's  bounty  intrusted  to  him. 
This  one  act  of  giving  to  the  poor  is  so  modified  by  motives 
as  to  be  in  the  first  instance  an  atrocious  crime  ;  in  the  sec- 
ond, gross  profligacy  ;  in  the  third,  an  act  of  charity  ;  in  the 
fourth,  a  deed  of  Christian  piety.  So  true  is  it  of  every  man, 
in  regard  to  every  act  of  his  life,  that  he  is  as  his  intentions 
are  :  motive,  not  performance,  determines  moral  character. 

The  same  maxim  is  true  when  applied  to  intellectual  char- 
acter :  "  As  he  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  The  human 
mind  is  as  the  thoughts  with  which  it  is  chiefly  conversant. 
It  is  very  much  the  creature  of  its  own  ideas.  The  man 
who  from  early  life  has  been  familiar  with  toj)ics  and  inter- 
ests of  great  significance,  is  educated  by  them.  His  intellect 
takes  its  character  and  coloring  from  the  ideas  which  habit- 
ually act  upon  it  and  dwell  in  it.  Even  the  sights  and  sounds 
that  engage  his  outward  senses — the  beautiful  landscape,  or 
the  sublime  mountain  scenery  upon  which  he  has  long  been 
accustomed  to  gaze  ;  the  roar  of  the  cataract,  \A'hich  sends 
forth  its  thunder  night  and  day  near  his  dwelling-place  — 
will  by-and-by  be  found  to  have  filled  the  imagination  and 
the  memory  with  images  and  recollections,  and  the  heart 
with  sentiments,  which  are  likely  to  exert  a  strong  and  per- 
manent influence  upon  his  mental  capacity,  upon  his  char- 
acter, and  his  destiny.  Still  more  must  every-day  pursuits, 
and  the  profound  interests  that  suggest  the  current  topics  of 
conversation  and  thought,  and  that  impose  upon  the  mind  its 
most  stirring,  strenuous  employments,  leave  upon  it  durable 


RELATION    TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  1G5 

impressions,  and  become  chief  and  influential  conditions  of 
its  development  and  growth.  If  two  individuals,  equal  in 
capacity  and  education,  spend  their  lives  in  a  great  indus- 
trial cstabhshment,  the  one  as  owner  or  superintendent,  the 
other  as  a  common  laborer,  the  master  is  likely  to  become  a 
man  of  decided  ability,  of  comprehensive  views,  inventive 
genius,  and  somid  judgment,  while  the  operative  makes  no 
progress  beyond  the  acquisition  of  some  degree  of  skill  in  his 
own  special  department.  The  first  has  a  variety  of  interests 
to  consult,  and  responsibiUties  to  meet ;  has  questions  to  set- 
tle, and  decisions  to  make  every  day  or  hour,  upon  which  are 
suspended  results  of  no  inconsiderable  moment.  This  gives 
variety,  multiplicity,  and  activity  to  his  ideas,  and  the  mind 
expands  and  acquires  new  vigor  by  such  processes.  The 
work  of  the  subaltern,  on  the  contrary,  is  mere  routine,  and 
his  mind  stagnates  and  dwindles  amid  the  incessant  monot- 
onous whirling  of  spindles  and  water-wheels. 

It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  travelers  in  Turkey  and  other  Ori- 
ental states  to  meet  with  high  public  functionaries  totally  ig- 
norant of  all  the  arts  and  sciences,  a  knowledge  of  which,  in 
our  part  of  the  world,  constitutes  education.  Many  of  them, 
however,  are  men  of  decided  ability,  who  discharge  the  duties 
of  their  high  stations  with  the  utmost  propriety.  The  most 
sagacious  and  successful  ruler  in  the  East  knows  nothing  of 
literature  and  science  bej^ond  the  poorest  skill  in  reading  and 
writing,  and  tliis  he  acquired  after  his  elevation  to  supreme 
power,  at  forty  years  of  age.  These  men  are  educated  by 
the  important,  responsible  employments  which  give  constant 
play  to  their  intellectual  faculties,  and  enlarge  the  mind  by 
habitufil  familiarity  with  significant  ideas.  That  is  likely  to 
become  the  most  powerful  intellect  which  is  most  constantly 
and  earnestly  busied  with  great  thoughts  and  great  designs. 
Every  religious  congregation  afibrds  good  illustration  of  this 
truth.  We  never  fail  to  observe  a  higher  tone  of  intelligence 
as  well  as  piety  among  a  people  accustomed  to  contemplato 


166  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

^  and  devise  extensive  schemes  for  doing  good,  not  at  home 
merely,  but  in  distant  lands  and  in  the  islands  of  the  sea,  than 
prevails,  or  can  prevail,  in  the  old  stereotyped  churches,  which 
are  well  content  if  they  can  only  take  care  of  themselves.  The 
inind  wants  an  ample  supply  of  worthy  ideas  to  furnish  it 
Avith  interesting,  productive  occupation.  With  these  it  must 
make  progress  and  attain  development ;  but  without  them, 
never.  This  truth  is  important,  not  to  students  only,  but  to 
all  who  desire  mental  growth  and  disciphne.  It  is  especial- 
ly important  for  those  who  labor  at  occupations  little  friend- 
ly to  intellectual  improvement.  Such  persons  should  seek  a 
remedy  for  the  disadvantage  of  their  position  by  reading  good 

'  books,  which  are  the  great  store-houses  of  ideas  and  thoughts, 
and  which  offer  a  ready  and  sufficient  resource. 

I  but  draAV  a  legitimate  inference  from  the  preceding  dis- 
cussion, and  announce  the  obvious  truth  of  the  text  in  another 
foim,  in  affirming  that  the  moral  character  of  a  man  is  as 
his  principles — that  it  is  not  only  colored  and  modified,  but 
formed  by  his  principles,  or  the  theory  according  to  which 
his  life  is  conducted.  As  each  separate  action  derives  its 
quality  from  the  motive  in  which  it  originates,  so  the  series 
of  actions  which  constitutes  the  history  of  an  individual  is 
as  the  succession  of  motives  from  which  they  proceed,  or  as 
the  moral  principles,  which  in  every  well-balanced  mind  con- 
stitute the  great  source  and  regulator  of  motives. 

By  a  similar  train  of  reasoning,  it  will  be  made  obvious 
that  the  mental  character  mixst,  to  a  great  extent,  be  the  re- 
sult of  the  theory  on  which  the  individual  resolves  to  conduct 
his  life.  If  the  mind  at  any  given  time  receives  its  impulses, 
its  elevation,  and  its  tendencies  from  the  particular  ideas  upon 
which  it  is  employed,  its  general  character  must,  to  a  great 
extent,  be  not  only  aflccted,  but  formed  by  that  unbroken 
succession  of  ideas  with  which  it  is  conversant,  the  most  in- 
fluential and  important  of  which  are  derived  from  those  pro- 
found convictions  and  stable  purposes  usually  denominated 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.       167 

the  2>}'i''>^ci]jlcs.  Dismissing  these  too  metaphysical  forms  of 
expression,  into  which  I  have  been  led  in  quest  of  clearness 
and  precision,  it  may  be  stated  in  general  terms,  that  a  man's 
moral  and  intellectual  character  are  as  "  he  thinketh  in  his 
heart" — are  as  those  deep  and  earnest  thoughts  which  con- 
stitute the  moving  forces  of  the  soul,  and  which  regulate  the 
life. 

I  think  we  may  now  regard  the  doctrine  of  the  text  as 
sufficiently  elucidated.  It  strikes  me  much  hke  a  self-evi- 
dent proposition,  the  announcement  of  which  brings  with  it 
the  clearest  conviction  of  its  truth.  It  falls  in  with  every 
man's  experience  and  every  man's  observation — with  the  na- 
ture of  things  and  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  we  may  now  feel 
at  liberty  to  proceed  with  some  inferences  and  applications 
of  a  practical  character,  adapted  to  the  special  demands  oi 
this  occasion.  I  will  subjoin  but  one  more  preliminaiy  re- 
mark. If  it  shall  seem  to  any  that  I  lose  sight  of  the  differ- 
ences between  moral  and  intellectual  objects,  and  confound 
ideas  logically  and  really  distinct,  I  refer  them  to  the  fur- 
ther developments  of  this  discourse,  for  the  justification  of  a 
method  deliberately  adopted  from  a  strong  conviction  that 
every  just  theory  of  intellectual  training  must  recognize  a 
dependence  nearly  absolute  upon  moral  principles. 

I.  It  is  a  natural  and  obvious  inference  from  the  preced- 
ing discussion,  that  every  man,  and  especially  every  educated 
young  man,  should  furnish  himself,  as  early  as  may  be,  with 
enlightened,  stable  principles  of  action.  He  should  set  out 
in  the  world  with  a  Avell-considered  and  earnestly  adopted 
theory  of  life,  in  obedience  to  whose  controlling  authority  his 
ends  shall  be  chosen  and  his  efforts  prosecuted.  To  engage 
in  a  career  involving  consequences  profoundly  interesting  in 
themselves,  and  eternal  in  their  duration  and  influence,  with- 
out settled  principles  and  aims,  is  like  setting  sail  upon  the 
broad  ocean  with  no  specific  destination  ;  and,  consequently, 
with  no  reason  for  choosing  one  direction  rather  than  another. 


168  CHRISTIAN    rRINCIPLE    IN 


but  such  as  capricious  gales  or  more  capricious  fancies  may 
from  time  to  time  happen  to  supply.  Kotliiiig  less  than  dis- 
comfiture and  disaster  can  be  expected  from  such  a  begin- 
ning. It  is,  indeed,  among  things  possible,  that  propitious 
breezes  may  waft  the  unpiloted  bark  into  some  desirable 
haven ;  and  even  that  the  fury  of  the  storm  may  drive  the 
floating  wreck  upon  some  green  or  some  golden  shore,  where 
reckless  adventure  may  gather  rewards  never  due,  and  sel- 
dom granted  to  any  thing  but  prudent  foresight,  and  well- 
directed,  persevering  effort.  He  is  little  better  than  a  mad- 
man, however,  who  voluntarily  consents  to  expose  the  most  . 
precious  interests  of  his  being  to  a  conflict  of  chances  in  which 
the  highest  perils  are  always  imminent,  and  absolute  ruin 
nearly  -ynavoidable  ;  while  success,  if  it  come  aS  the  result 
of  fortuitous  causes  and  combinations,  is  likely  to  be  nearly 
valueless,  because  not  foreseen  and  provided  for.  That  course 
of  life  which  is  entered  upon  without  principle,  and  conduct- 
ed without  a  plan,  can  not  but  be  unproductive  of  either  vir- 
tue, happiness,  or  honor.  That  it  is  not  wholly  filled  up 
with  misfortunes  and  disgraces,  and  rendered  to  the  victim 
of  his  own  follies  one  unvaried  scene  of  wretchedness,  results 
from  the  benignant  arrangements  of  divine  Providence,  winch 
always  protect  the  imprudent  and  the  vicious  against  many 
of  the  consequences  of  their  misconduct,  and  secure  to  all 
such  a  measure  of  enjoyment  as  shall  make  life  tolerable, 
even  to  the  most  unfortunate,  and  awaken  gratitude  in  the 
midst  of  disappointment  and  shame. 

For  those  who  will  not  be  at  the  trouble  of  subjecting  them- 
selves to  the  control  of  principle  and  duty,  it  is  fortunate  to 
be  left  in  the  walks  of  common,  laborious  life,  where,  in  the 
absence  of  the  higher  motives  which  reason  and  religion  sup- 
ply, domestic  instincts  and  urgent  wants  are  ever  at  hand  to 
mii^ster  their  stern  impulses  to  energetic,  persevering  activ- 
ity. The  great  law  of  necessity,  which  prescribes  to  the 
multitude  their  toilsome  course  of  life,  is  faithful  to  exact 


RELATION     TO     MENTAL     CULTUE.E.  16'J 

the  fulfiUmeut  of  its  duties  ;  but  for  those  whom  fortune  or 
parental  indulgence,  or  their  own  honorable  aspirations,  al- 
low to  choose  a  higher  career,  no  such  safeguard  is  provided. 
They  must  find  incentives  to  action,  and  guarantees  of  suc- 
cess, in  their  own  enlightened  reason  and  virtuous  resolution. 
For  them  to  engage  in  the  elevating  pursuits  which  invite 
their  pi'esence,  without  the  moral  and  mental  prerequisites 
to  success,  is  to  incur  necessary,  unavoidable  disasters.  In 
the  "absence  of  established  principles  of  action,  their  efforts 
will  be  feeble  and  fitful.  The  long  labor  of  preparation  will 
be  but  a  heartless,  profitless  task,  from  which  feeble  tempta- 
tions and  worthless  pleasures  will  ever  be  sufficient  to  draw 
away  the  wavering,  irresolute  disciple.  Every  folly  which 
holds  out  the  promise  of  stimulating  excitement  or  vulgar 
merriment — every  vice  which  has  a  gilded  bait  to  ofier,  has 
its  eye  upon  him  as  a  predestined  victim.  Destitute  of  any 
sound  principle  of  action,  and  therefore  without  purpose  or 
earnestness,  he  floats  a  waif  upon,  a  sea  of  accidents — he 
stands  idle  in  the  market-place,  a  laborer  out  of  work,  la- 
beled and  advertised  as  a  candidate  for  any  and  every  adven- 
ture. I  do  not  hesitate  to  announce  it  as  my  deliberate  opin- 
ion, that  most  of  the  miscari'iages  of  scholastic  life  are  the 
result  of  the  causes  here  discussed.  Not  a  few  young  men 
enter  upon  this  career  without  settled  principles  or  purposes. 
They  are  conscious  of  no  aims.  They  know  not  why  they 
are  in  a  college  rather  than  in  a  factory  or  a  corn-field.  It 
is  no  manly,  vigorous  purpose  ;  no  lofty  aspiration  ;  no  burn- 
ing zeal  for  God's  glory,  or  human  well-being,  that  has 
brought  them  here.  Such  motives  dignify  and  consecrate 
the  student's  vocationj  they  hallow  all  his  hours  and  oppor- 
tunities ;  they  exalt  industry  and  sobriety,  and  punctuality 
and  order,  into  cardinal  virtues ;  they  fortify  the  soul  with 
sturdy  resolution,  and  stir  it  with  sleepless  impulses  ;  they 
set  it  all  a-blaze  with  scholarly  enthusiasm,  and  lead  on  even 
ordinary  men,  by  no  means  highly  gifted,  to  the  attainment 

H 


170  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE    IN 

of  an  intellectual  and  moral  efficiency  very  like  genius  Tlie 
pursuit  of  knowledge  under  such  Lenignant  auspices  can  nev- 
er be  an  irksome  task.  It  rather  becomes  a  mission  in  ful- 
fillment of  which  the  student  works  on  consciously  and  ge- 
nially, growing  every  day  more  and  more  a  man,  fit  to  bear 
God's  image  in  the  world,  and  to  act  the  part  of  a  brother 
and  a  benefactor  in  the  great  suflering  family  of  which  he  is 
one. 

Students  of  the  other  class,  and  I  must  admit  that  it  does 
not  every  v.  here  lack  the  respectability  of  numbers,  find  col- 
lege work,  so  far  as  they  do  it,  mere  drudgery.  They  taste 
none  of  the  pleasures  of  science,  and  they  reap  none  of  the 
|iigher  advantages  of  education,  for  these  are  gained  by  vol- 
untary, earnest  co-operation  with  the  sources  of  information 
and  the  appliances  which  literary  institutions  profess  to  sv;p- 
p]y.  Something,  no  doubt,  may  be  gainetl  to  taste  and  gen- 
eral intelligence  by  breathing  a  literary  atmosphere,  and  by 
a  half  involuntary  subjection  to  the  processes  of  the  study  and 
the  lecture-room  ;  and  if  it  shall  turn  out  that  the  literary 
idler  inhales  somewhat  more  of  the  vital  principle  than  he 
gives  out  of  noxious  effluvia  for  the  lungs  of  others,  then 
there  may  be  advantage  in  the  experiment.  But  against 
these  benefits,  however  highly  they  may  be  rated,  there  is  to 
be  taken  into  our  account  the  offset  of  many  fearful  evils  lia- 
ble to  be  suflered  and  inflicted.  The  mind,  without  a  guid- 
ing principle  or  recognized  vocation,  if  it  be  not  neutralized 
and  wasted  by  its  own  feeble,  misdirected,  conflicting  tend- 
encies, will  hardly  escape  a  corrupting  thraldom  from  the 
accidental  or  malicious  influences  to  which  it  is  exposed. 
E-efusing  its  homage  to  the  right  and  the  true,  and  so  spurn- 
ing the  protection  of  practical  virtue,  it'becomes  an  easy  prey 
to  unsuspected  enemies.  Other  minds,  as  empty  and  listless 
as  itself,  or  the  w'eakest  combination  of  accidents,  impose  law 
uj)on  him  who  will  not  choose  to  be  his  own  master.  The 
poor  jests  that  fall  from  the  idler  or  wag  who  sits  by  his  side 


DELATION     TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  171 

at  the  dinner-table  or  in  the  lecture-room,  or  the  current  non- 
sense of  the  clique  whom  chance,  or  some  more  formal  bond 
of  union,  has  made  his  chosen  associates,  fashion  his  senti- 
ments, and  become  chief  agents  in  the  formation  of  his  mental 
and  moral  habits.*    These  appoint  his  aims,  and  pronounce  ex 

*  The  literary  fiateniitics,  of  late  so  greatly  multiplied  in  our  col- 
leges, exert  a  very  important  influence  upon  the  formation  of  both  men- 
tal and  moral  character.  They  have  gradually  introduced  into  these 
uistitutions  a  new  element,  very  worthy  of  attention,  whether  consid- 
ered in  connection  with  the  maintenance  of  sound  discipline  and  good 
order,  or  with  literary  improvement.  Twenty  years  ago  the  students 
of  a  college  usually  formed  two  associations,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual 
improvement  in  composition  and  oratory.  Two  hom's  in  some  after- 
noon or  evening  of  each  week  were  set  apart  by  the  authority,  or  with 
the  consent  of  the  faculty,  for  these  exercises,  which  were  conducted 
sometimes  secretly,  but  more  commonly  with  some  degree  of  publicity, 
under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  were  agreed  upon  for  the  orderly 
transaction  of  business.  These  societies,  though  liable  to  abuses,  often 
contributed  in  a  considerable  degi'ee  to  the  improvement  of  the  student. 
Some  skill  and  llxcility  in  extemporaneous  speaking  were  acquired,  for 
which  the  ordinary  routine  of  college  life  affords  less  favorable  oppor- 
liniities.  A  sj^irit  of  inquiry  and  emulation  was  awakened  ;  informa- 
tion was  elicited  ;  the  timid  were  encouraged  to  take  part  in  exercises 
I)rescribed  with  their  consent,  and  presided  over  by  their  associates ; 
and  the  general  freedom  and  wide  scof)e,  as  well  as  the  method  of  the 
discussion,  vs'ere  calculated  to  introduce  into  the  scholastic  arena  some- 
thing of  the  earnestness  and  reality  of  the  actual  business  of  life,  for 
which  it  constituted,  to  some  extent,  a  useful  preparation.  The  draw- 
backs upon  these  benefits  were  often  party  sf)irit,  rivalries,  jealousies, 
and  suspicions ;  a  loose  and  vapid  style  of  s^Jealiing  and  writing,  con- 
tracted in  the  absence  of  proper  instruction  and  judicious  criticism ;  and 
sometimes  an  undervaluing  of  the  prescribed  studies  and  duties  which 
constitute  the  student's  proper  business. 

In  addition  to  the  two  or  three  associations,  which  usually  embraced 
the  whole  body  of  students,  we  now  have  from  five  or  six  to  a  dozen 
secre';  societies,  aiming  at  similar  objects  with  the  old  fraternities,  and 
securing  them  in  various  degrees.  Some  special  benefits  are  {probably 
gained  by  Uiis  rfinute  subdivision,  in  the  closer  intimacies  and  by  the 
freer  jilay  of  confidence  and  sympathy  which  it  allows. 

01  the  disadvantages  which  may  grow  out  of  this  :«ii;ovution  I  only 


172  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

cathedra  judgments  more  authoritative  than  university  stat- 
utes, or  the  counsel  of  the  most  judicious  instructors.     In 

speak  theoretically,  as  the  excellent  tone  of  moral  sentiment  which  has 
usually  prevailed  in  the  Wesleyan  University  is  calculated  to  counter- 
act any  unfavorable  tendencies  in  the  casual  associations  of  the  students. 
The  additional  expenditure  of  money  and  time  is  a-practical  and  obvi- 
ous  objection  of  considerable  weight,  though  slight  in  comparison  with 
any  injurious  influences  on  mental  and  moral  culture  which  may  pos- 
sibly result  from  the  cause  under  consideration.  The  inconsiderable 
numbers  of  which  these  societies,  now  so  greatly  multiplied,  must  con- 
sist, would  seem  to  be  less  favorable  to  improvement  than  larger  asso- 
ciations, from  lack  of  stimulus,  and  the  want  of  an  audience  ;  from  the 
narrow  sphere  of  comparison ;  and  from  the  little  variety  of  talent  and 
attainment  presented,  whether  to  awaken  emulation  or  to  supply  mod- 
els. It  is  an  easy  achievement  to  shine  and  win  applause  in  a  circle 
of  half  a  dozen  students,  drawn  together,  it  may  be,  by  the  common 
bond  of  mediocrity  in  mind  and  scholarship,  while  intellectual  exhibi- 
tions in  the  presence  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  intelligent  young  men  have 
another  sort  of  ordeal  to  pass.  In  the  larger  association  we  should  al- 
ways expect  some  examples  of  fine  taste,  sound  reasoning,  and  good 
speaking,  well  calculated  to  awaken  and  guide  a  manly  ambition  to 
excel.  The  closer  intimacy  and  stronger  ties  of  the  smaller  fraterni- 
ties must  also  tend  to  impair  the  strength,  or  prevent  the  existence  of 
the  esprit  du  corps  of  the  class  and  the  institution,  which  constitutes 
one  of  the  most  delightful,  enduring,  and  valuable  satisfactions  and  rem- 
iniscences of  college  life.  It  will  be  found,  I  think,  except  under  the 
most  fav^orable  circumstances,  that  the  multiplication  of  these  fraterni- 
ties tends  to  excite  groundless  suspicions,  to  alienate  friends,  and  pre- 
vent the  formation  of  friendsliips  between  congenial  minds.  Even  re- 
ligious ties  and  sympathies  are  not  always  able  to  resist  an  influence 
which  may  sometimes  degrade  literary  associations  into  the  bigotry, 
selfishness,  and  pettiness  of  a  clique.  In  a  state  of  morals  and  senti- 
ments less  favorable  than  that  with  which  I  have  the  good  fortune  to 
be  most  conversant,  the  unreasonable  and  eager  strife  of  small  associa- 
tions might  produce  great  difficulties  in  the  government  of  a  literary 
institution.  I  am,  however,  bound  in  justice  to  add,  that  no  such  evils 
have  fallen  under  my  notice  ;  and  that  instances  have  come  to  my 
knowledge  in  which  the  right  feeling  and  self-respect  of  the  fraternity 
have  rendered  valuable  aid  to  the  cause  of  good  order,  and  done  much 
to  restrain  an  erring  member  from  indolence,  vice,  and  dishonor. 
Not  to  make  any  further  use  of  the  foregoing  suggestions,  they  should 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.      173 

obedience  to  such  oracles  it  is  that  green,  unfurnished  youths 
resolve  that  the  real  hinderances  to  mental  improvement  and 
to  the  development  of  genius  are  hard  study  and  solid  science ; 
and  that  some  light  reading  and  vapid  declamation — above 
all,  the  edifying  discourses  and  flashy  criticisms  of  the  coterie, 
are  able  to  form  them  great  orators,  and,  if  they  hke,  great 
authors  and  statesmen.  Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  these 
are  mere  idle  fancies,  which  disappear  with  the  hour  that 
gives  them  birth.     If  they  take  the  guise  of  very  palpable 

inspire  the  student  with  great  caution  in  his  selection  among  the  vari- 
ous societies  whicli  invite  him  to  their  fellowship  on  his  entrance  upon 
college  life.  lie  shoukl,  at  least,  take  time  to  consider,  and  become 
acquainted.  He  should  be  cautious  that  he  does  not  commit  the  keep- 
ing of  his  comfort,  his  scholarship,  his  principles,  his  manners  and  mor- 
als, to  associates  whose  bond  of  union  may  be  their  community  of  idle 
habits,  vulgar  tastes,  and  conversation;  of  low  scholarship,  and  loose 
or  irreligious  principles;  and  a  common  aversion  to  certain  laborious 
studies  and  duties  prescribed  in  the  college  course.  The  societies  them- 
selves ought  to  be  ever  on  their  guard  against  the  dangers  and  abuses 
to  which,  however  outweighed  by  advantages,  they  are  unavoidably 
exposed  ;  to  maintain  a  spirit  of  generous,  honorable,  not  of  petty,  sus- 
picious rivalry,  toward  their  confraternities.  They  should  watch  over 
the  conduct  of  their  members  with  brotherly  kindness  and  solicitude, 
and  seek  to  promote  in  them  scholarly,  gentlemanly,  and  manly  habits 
and  aspirations.  It  should  ever  be  a  first  principle  with  them  to  pros- 
ecute their  laudable  objects  in  strict  subordination  to  their  higher  du- 
ties as  members  of  a  public  institution,  and  in  a  frank  and  ingenuous, 
and  honorable  spirit  toward  its  administration  and  government.  Even 
those  slight  infractions  of  law  and  order  which  may  be  deemed  venial 
in  an  inexperienced  individual,  ought  to  be  esteemed  disgraceful  in  a 
society  of  intelligent  young  gentlemen,  which  is  presumed  to  be  ani- 
mated and  guided  by  the  combined  discretion,  and  honor,  and  con 
science  of  all  its  members.  Associations  of  students,  judiciously  con 
ducted  in  accordance  with  the  principles  here  suggested  —  devoting 
themselves,  not  to  trivial,  but  to  significant,  earnest,  manly  discussions 
and  inquiries ;  always  kept  in  harmony  with  the  higher  duties  and  ob- 
jects of  college  life ;  and,  I  will  add,  never  allowed  to  interfere  with 
due  attention  to  the  public  societies,  or  to  introduce  into  them  any  of 
the  petty  rivalries  of  the  minor  fraternities  —  may  become  very  useCul 
aids  to  intellectual  culture. 


171  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE    IN 

absurdities  when  exposed  in  tlieir  true  point  of  view,  they 
very  often  present  themselves  upon  the  theatre  of  practical 
education  as  real,  insuperable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  all  im- 
provement. They  often  render  attendance  on  college  terms 
and  college  exercises  nearly  useless  to  the  pupil,  and  the 
teacher's  office  a  laborious,  vexatious  nullity.  All  good  in- 
fluences are  lost  upon  such  purposeless,  wayward,  obstinate 
minds.  The  accidents  to  which  they  surrender  the  conduct 
of  their  intellect  and  their  lives,  may,  indeed,  by  rare  good 
fortune,  impress  upon  them  some  form  of  intelligence  and 
virtue.  Some  higher,  purer  current  of  the  fickle  winds  to 
which  they  commit  their  course,  may  chance  to  harden  into 
habits  not  wholly  detestable,  some  of  the  transient  phases 
exhibited  in  the  ever-varying  phenomena  of  their  mental 
progress.  Still  it  would  be  idle  to  expect  satisfactory  results 
from  causes  so  inadequate,  and  methods  so  utterly  unsound. 
Success  will  be  the  rare  exception — failure  the  rule.  I  re- 
peat the  opinion  already  expressed,  that  here  is  to  be  found 
the  source  of  the  manifold  grievous  disappointments  which 
so  often  fall  to  the  lot  of  so-called  educated  men.  There  is 
no  reason,  in  the  nature  of  things,  why  one  third  of  college- 
bred  young  men  should  prove  unfit  for  the  professions  for 
which  hberal  education  is  designed  to  prepare  them,  while 
nineteen  in  twenty  of  all  who  are  apprenticed  to  mechanics 
and  artisans  turn  out  complete  workmen.  We  do  not  demand 
that  all  educated  men  shall  prove  to  be  geniuses,  or  shall  at- 
tain to  the  highest  professional  distinction.  All,  however, 
not  essentially  deficient  in  ordinary  mental  endowments,  are 
capable  of  gaining  the  mental  discipline  which  it  is  the  busi- 
ness of  schools  and  colleges  to  impart,  and  which  is  requisite 
in  the  functions  to  the  fulfillment  of  which  society  calls  its 
educated  men.  The  thing  most  requisite  to  success  in  these 
vocations  is  not  brilliant  talent,  but  the  due  preparation  and 
use  of  those  average  capacities  which  God  bestows  impar- 
tially upon  tlio  race.     These  can  only  be  secured  by  diligent, 


RELATION     TO     MENTAL,     CULTURE.  17<3 

persevering  study,  pursued  upon  a  plan  and  upon  principle.; 
and  it  is  because  so  large  a  class  of  students,  so-called,  have 
neither  principle  nor  plan,  that  so  many  of  them  fall  out  by 
the  way,  and  so  many  others,  vi^ho  manage  to  pass  through 
college,  are  destined  to  a  life  of  mortification  and  disappoint- 
ment. 

II.  I  pass  on  to  another  remark.  Since  established  prin- 
ciples of  action  are  so  essential  to  success,  loc  ought  to  use 
great  ca2itio/i  in  the  adoption  of  our  'priiiciiilcs.,  for  ail  are 
not  equally  good. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  any  efTective  principle  of  action, 
not  absolutely  vicious,  is  better  than  none.  Action  upon  low 
and  adulterated  motives  is  preferable  to  the  intellectual 
stagnation  which  results  from  a  want  of  strong  impulses,  and 
earnest,  stable  purpose.  It  is  better  to  be  driven  furiously 
over  rocks  and  shoals  by  Borean  gales,  than  to  reel  and 
fiwelter,  and  take  the  plague  in  the  calms  of  the  torrid  zone. 
Still,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  moment  to  commence  and  prose- 
cute our  plans  of  life  on  an  elevating  and  genial  theory,  for 
in  it  both  moral  and  mental  character  are  deeply  involved. 

Many  young  men  choose  a  literary  and  professional  career 
in  preference  to  more  active  and  laborious  pursuits,  from  a 
deliberate  comparison  of  the  advantages  which  each  is  sup- 
posed to  ofl'er.  They  resolve  to  escape  from  the  plow  and 
the  work-shop,  because  they  are  disgusted  with  mere  manual 
labor,  and  fancy  that  they  feel  wdthin  them  the  presence  of 
mental  aptitudes,  which,  with  due  culture,  may  raise  them 
to  ease  or  affluence.  It  can  not  be  denied  that  such  persons 
have  chosen  for  themselves  a  principle  of  action  of  great  po- 
tency, which  may  stimulate  to  persevering  industry,  and  even 
high  enterprise.  It  is  a  motive  of  sufficient  efficiency  to  in- 
sure stability  of  pui'pose  and  of  action,  and  may,  with  great 
probability,  lead  on  to  thorough  scholarship  and  professional 
eminence.  It  even  offers  guarantees  for  correct  morals,  as 
well  as  for  mental  improvement  ;  for  they  who  are  earnest- 


\ 

176  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

ly  engaged  in  serious  occupations,  have  seldom  leisure  or  in- 
clination for  vice  and  dissipation.  Self-interest,  however, 
though  a  highly  efficient,  and,  in  the  absence  of  better,  a 
very  useful  motive,  can  not  be  regarded  a  worthy  principle  of 
action  for  an  intelligent  moral  being.  It  is  not  good,  in  the 
long  run,  either  for  the  intellect  or  the  heart.  In  its  higher 
developments  it  is  philosophically  incompatible  with  the  act- 
ive existence  of  several  of  the  most  valuable  sentiments  and 
virtues  that  enrich  and  adorn  the  human  character.  It  can 
not,  for  instance,  coexist  with  magnanimity,  or  benevolence, 
or  generosity,  or  public  spirit.  "\Yhen  fairly  enthroned  as  the 
rule  of  life,  it  gradually,  but  inevitably,  loses-  all  kind  consid- 
eration for  the  welfare  of  others,  or  for  any  interest  that  can 
not  be  made  subservient  to  individual  aggrandizement  ;  and 
then  it  is  that  we  clearly  perceive  its  malignant  character. 
Now  this  is  the  point  to  which  it  perpetually  tends ;  and 
that  must  be  pronnunced  a  vicious  principle  of  action  which, 
however  useful  in  special  circumstances,  becomes  intolerable 
the  moment  it  obtams  a  full  development.  Our  motives  of 
action,  in  order  to  achieve  the  utmost  for  character,  should 
be  such  as  gain  new  force  and  momentum  with  our  progress 
in  wisdom  and  virtue  ;  but  the  motive  in  question  just  then 
grows  into  a  manifest,  monstrous  evil,  fatal  alike  to  virtue, 
and  piety,  and  happiness. 

Its  influence  upon  the  intellectual  charactei'  is  scarcely  less 
disastrous  than  upon  the  moral.  The  mind  which  was  well 
disciplined  under  the  impulses  of  a  principle  of  so  much  en- 
ergy, and  so  sagacious,  soon  finds  itself  shut  in  from  all  en- 
largement by  a  system,  of  which  self,  and  not  man,  nor  the 
universe,  nor  God,  is  the  centre.  The  heart  becomes  hard, 
and  the  conscience  seared,  in  their  perpetual  conflicts  with 
the  claims  of  sympathy  and  charity  ;  and  this  is  equivalent 
to  affirming  that  all  the  fountains  of  genial  sentiment  are 
congealed  into  ice,  or  indurated  into  stone.  Insensibility  to 
the  interests  of  others  is  confessedly  fatal  to  all  true,  per- 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.       177 

suasive  eloquence.  As  the  selfish  man,  sooner  or  later,  be- 
comes an  object  of  indiflerence  or  detestation  to  the  world, 
he  can  never  secure  the  reputation  and  the  influence  needful 
to  move  or  control  other  minds.  He  can  no  more  be  a  poet 
than  an  orator,  for  he  docs  not  love  or  reverence  nature,  or 
man,  or  God.  Nor  do  I  see  how  he  can  possibly  be  a  philos- 
opher ;  how  he  can  attain  to  the  love  of  truth,  except  for  the 
gain  it  may  bring  him  ;  how  he  can  have  a  heart  to  appre- 
ciate great  discoveries  in  the  earth  or  the  heavens,  in  any 
higher  spirit  than  that  which  rejoices  in  the  acquisition  of 
the  precious  gem  accidentally  brought  to  light  in  geological 
researches,  or  in  the  glitter  and  costliness  of  the  instruments 
with  which  science  prosecutes  its  inquiries. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  unjust  to  liberally  educated  men,  and 
yet  more  to  the  youthful  student,  to  intimate  that  selfish  mo- 
tives operate  upon  them  with  peculiar  force.  He  has  prob- 
ably surrendered  himself  to  the  dominion  of  more  honorable 
sentiments  :  he  has  chosen  ambition  as  his  guiding  star,  and 
spends  the  midnight  oil  amid  visions  of  future  renown.  I 
believe  that  ambition  does  operate  much  more  frequently 
and  powerfully  upon  intelligent  young  men  than  self-inter- 
est ;  and  I  gladly  admit  that  it  is  a  far  more  elevated  and 
honorable  principle  of  action.  It  emancipates  the  aspiring 
mind  from  a  degrading  bondage  to  those  material  interests 
which  turn  away  its  vision  from  all  things  genial  and  enno- 
bling, and  concentrate  upon  self  the  expansive  sympathies 
that  were  meant  for  mankind.  By  presenting  reputation  and 
influence  as  the  most  desirable  objects  of  pursuit,  it  prescribes 
the  cultivation  of  such  virtues  and  accomplishments  as  ren- 
der a  man  agreeable  to  his  fellows,  and  so  far  provides  for 
•the  interest  and  happiness  of  the  species.  Scope  is  thus  given 
for  some  exercise  of  the  charities  of  our  nature,  and  for  some 
degree  of  the  virtues  of  patriotism  and  public  spirit ;  an  ad- 
vantage which  raises  ambition  immeasurably  above  mere 
gross  selfishness  as  a  motive  for  mental  culture.     That  rule 

H  2 


178  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE    IN 

of  life,  however,  is  essentially  defective  and  faulty  which  pro- 
poses public  I'avor  and  applause  as  a  motive  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge  or  the  cultivation  of  virtue.  They  who 
follow  it  seldom  become  either  wise  or  virtuous ;  for  they 
will  soon  discover  that  superficial  attainments,  and  the  sem- 
blances of  virtue,  are  more  easy,  and  not  less  sure  passports 
to  popularity,  than  the  realities  of  which  they  are  the  cheap 
substitutes  and  gaudy  counterfeits.  Knowledge  and  virtue 
come  to  be  regarded  only  as  means,  less  valuable  and  less 
desirable  than  the  ends  they  are  used  to  promote  ;  and  they 
will  be  abandoned  without  scruple  for  other  expedients  found 
to  be  of  equal  or  greater  efficacy.  Thus  degraded  to  the  level 
of  mere  instruments,  they  lose  their  moral  character,  and, 
with  it,  their  reflex  power  over  the  mind  and  the  heart.  It 
is  thus  that  ambition,  which,  at  the  outset,  frequently  exerts 
a  powerful  and  conservative  influence  upon  the  student,  be- 
comes, after  no  great  length  of  time,  a  thoroughly  misleading 
element,  hostile  alike  to  intellectual  and  moral  advancement. 
This  is  its  inherent  vice,  which  must  operate  with  greater 
or  less  force,  even  in  the  study,  and  throughout  the  forming 
period  of  life.  In  the  turmoil  of  riper  years,  and  amid  the 
temptations  of  a  public  career,  its  sway  often  becomes  abso- 
lute, and  not  many  are  found  able  to  resist  its  deteriorating 
influences.  Indeed,  ambition  finds  little  indulgence,  even  in 
the  judgment  of  the  world.  We  too  incautiously,  perhaps, 
laud  an  ambitious  student ;  but  to  apply  this  epithet  to  a 
man  of  mature  years,  to  a  statesman,  or  an  aspirant  for  of- 
fice, is  equivalent  to  pronouncing  him  unworthy  of  public 
confidence.  Ambition  is  like  self-interest  in  this,  that  it 
iTfiinisters  useful  impulses  in  the  preparatory  stages  of  life, 
and  in  the  absence  of  strong  temptations  ;  but  it  eventually 
imdermines  the  character,  and  seduces  both  the  intellect  and 
the  heart.  "When  once  the  ambitious  scholar  has  become  an 
ambitious  politician,  there  is  commonly  an  end  to  all  men- 
tal and  moral  improvement.     Tact  and  demagogism  answer 


RELATION     TO    MENTAL     CULTUR.E.  179 

his  new  aims  far  better  than  divine  philosophy  ;  and  he  has 
entered  a  region  of  temptation  too  strong  for  ordinary  virtue. 
Party  arrangements  and  ohhgations  are  not  long  in  weaving 
their  meshes  for  the  conscience,  which  soon  learns  submis- 
sion to  the  code  of  morality  that  prefers  the  popular  and  the 
politic  to  the  true  and  the  right.  A  thousand  sad  histories, 
fulfilled  and  fulfilling  among  us,  will  tell,  without  more  ar- 
gument, by  what  sure,  though  it  may  be  slow,  gradations  the 
ingenuous,  studious  youth  of  twenty-one  is  led  on  by  this  ig- 
nis fat  mcs  to  be,  at  forty,  an  unprincipled,  time-serving  dem- 
agogue, without  principle,  reputation,  or  honorable  aspirations. 
Let  every  young  man  beware  of  surrendering  himself  to  the 
leading  of  unchasteued  ambition.  Let  him  shun,  as  the  gates 
of  death,  the  arena  of  partisan  strife  and  preferment.  Let 
him  patiently  seek,  in  some  honest  calling,  independence  of 
all  parties  and  offices.  It  may  be  that  intelligence  and  vir- 
tue will  be  wanted  some  day  on  the  pohtical  stage,  and  he 
may  then  ascend  it  with  clean  hands  and  a  good  conscience, 
and  with  the  full  advantage  of  all  the  wisdom  and  reputa- 
tion with  which  he  has  fortified  his  character  in  the  inno- 
cence of  private  life. 

There  is  still  another  motive  to  literary  activity,  liable  to 
none  of  the  objections  here  referred  to,  which  deserves  more 
attention  than  it  has  yet  received  in  our  places  of  education. 
Could  we  hope  to  find  a  considerable  number  of  youths  so 
happily  constituted  that  the  love  of  learning  would  prove  a 
sufficient  stimulus  to  diligent,  perseverfng  application,  we 
should  have  discovered  an  incentive  to  action  which  the  most 
scrupulous  morality  could  not  hesitate  to  approve.  It  is  a 
delightful  thought,  that  of  an  ingenuous  young  man  led  on 
through  the  schools,  and  through  a  studious  life,  by  the  strong 
attractions  of  science,  irrespective  of  any  interested  objects  or 
of  any  reward,  but  such  as  reveal  themselves  to  the  under- 
standing and  the  heart,  in  the  discovery  of  those  great  laws 
which  the  inscrutable  wisdom  of  God  has  impressed  upon 


ISU  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE     IN 

His  creation.  It  is  not  conceivable  that  such  a  principle 
should  interfere  with  the  highest  moral  development,  or  that 
it  should  fail  in  leading  to  the  most  desirable  mental  culture. 
Indeed,  it  approaches  both  in  purity  and  efficiency  the  Chris- 
tian motive  ;  and  but  for  the  too  narrow  field  of  its  opera- 
tions, we  might  be  content  to  leave  under  its  sole  guidance 
all  who  will  not  be  induced  to  learn  the  true  philosophy  of 
education  from  the  great  Teacher. 

III.  In  attempting  to  show  that  the  religio?i  of  Christ 
furnishes  the  student  with  the  only  safe  and  adequate  motive 
to  intellectual  effort,  I  shall  take  it  for  granted  that,  so  far 
as  moral  character  is  concerned,  the  truth  of  this  proposition 
is  conceded  by  all  who  hear  me.  Enlightened  infidels  do 
not  hesitate  to  acknowledge  the  claims  of  the  Gospel  as  the 
highest,  purest  source  of  morals  ;  and  none  but  rank,  bitter 
enemies  nowadays  call  this  claim  in  question.  In  address- 
ing myself  to  Christian  young  men,  who  cheerfully  recognize 
the  excellence  of  Christianity,  even  while  they  may  live  in 
neglect  of  many  of  its  precepts  and  privileges,  I  may  safely 
presume  that  they  acknowledge  the  Bible  as  the  only  sufli- 
cient  standard  of  moral  virtue,  and,  therefore,  the  only  safe 
guide  in  the  formation  of  moral  character.  That  the  Gospel 
also  furnishes  the  only  safe  and  sufficient  motive  and  guide 
to  intellectual  culture,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  demonstrate. 
And  here  I  shall  claim  nothing  for  religion  on  strictly  relig- 
ious and  theological  grounds.  I  shall  only  refer  to  it  as  a 
system  of  truth  and  duty,  exerting,  and  entitled  to  exert,  a 
strong  and  permanent  influence  upon  human  conduct  and 
character,  from  its  natural  and  philosophicijl,  no  less  than 
from  its  moral  relations  to  men.  How,  then,  does  Christian- 
ity bear  upon  the  question  of  intellectual  education,  and  min- 
ister incentives  and  aids  to  high  mental  improvement  ? 

1 .  Its  great  laio  of  responsibility  furnishes  a  inotive 
of  great  and  ever-living  efjicacy. 

Were  it  possible  to  lift  up  the  vail  which  conceals  from 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.       181 

observation  the  secret  springs  of  human  action,  it  would  be 
discovered  that  a  deep  conviction  of  accountability  to  God  is 
the  most  pervading  and  povv^erful  of  these  occult  agencies. 
In  the  irreligious,  this  principle  chiefly  operates  in  the  re- 
straints which  it  imposes  upon  their  bad  dispositions  ;  and 
to  it  we  must  chiefly  refer  the  wide  diflcrence  between  the 
actual  conduct  and  character  of  men,  and  that  profounder 
depravity  and  overflowing  profligacy  which  would  prevail  in 
the  absence  of  all  sense  of  moral  and  religious  obligation.  It 
is,  however,  upon  pious  minds  that  this  principle  operates 
with  its  fullest  force.  In  them  every  act  and  enterprise  is 
subordinated  to  this  universal  law.  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  ?"  is  the  burden  of  every  prayer.  They  "  la- 
bor to  be  approved  unto  God  ;"  and  they  are  only  satisfied 
with  their  own  performances  in  proportion  as  all  things  have 
been  done  with  a  "single  eye."  They  must  "eat  and  drink 
to  the  glory  of  God."  His  claims  to  homage  extend  to  every 
"  word"  and  "  act ;"  and  they  charge  themselves  to  remem- 
ber that  they  are  to  give  account  for  all  "the  deeds  done  in 
the  body."  Such  a  conviction  of  responsibility,  in  proportion 
as  it  is  honestly  entertained  and  obeyed,  becomes  the  great 
law  of  life,  and  impresses  with  its  potency,  and  tinges  with 
its  hues,  every  spring  of  action  and  every  phase  of  character. 
It  will  be  admitted,  I  am  sure,  that  this  great  Christian 
motive  presses  upon  none  with  more  urgency,  or  with  an  au- 
thority more  imperative  and  sacred,  than  upon  the  young 
man  led  by  his  own  inclinations,  and  allowed  by  providen- 
tial circumstances,  to  devote  his  early  years  to  mental  cul- 
ture. He  is  engaged  in  elevating  and  purifying  that  part  of 
his  nature  which  constitutes  him  a  man  and  a  child  of  eter- 
nity—  for  which  God  manifests  his  care  in  all  the  arrange- 
ments of  his  grace,  and  for  which  Christ  died  on  the  cross. 
He  is  engaged  in  fitting  for  high  uses  the  instrument  by  which 
alone  he  can  honor  God  or  enjoy  Him,  or  promote  the  happi- 
ness of  his  fellow-creatures.     If  there  is  done  on  this  earth  a 


182  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

work  of  some  importance  and  dignity,  the  culture  of  the  im- 
mortal mind  is  such  a  work.  To  perform  this  work  well,  to 
make  the  most  of  these  priceless  opportunities,  is  obviously  a 
sacred  duty.  The  student  occupies  a  high  and  holy  trust. 
By  diligence  and  fidelity  in  his  work,  he  augments  forever 
his  own  powers  of  happiness  and  usefulness.  He  augments 
the  means  of  happiness  intrusted  to  him  for  human  society. 
He  augments  his  own  capacity  for  knowing,  eifjoying,  and 
honoring  God.  Shall  it  be  thought  a  slight  ofiense  to  prove 
false  to  such  obligations  ?  Shall  the  man  who  perverts  in- 
fluence, or  squanders  wealth,  or  violates  a  public  trust,  be 
deemed  culpable,  and  is  he  innocent  who  robs  himself,  and 
society,  and  God,  of  talents  put  in  his  hands,  not  to  be  buried 
or  wasted,  but  to  be  improved  to  the  utmost?  Surely,  if  God 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  and,  with  a  rigorous 
impartiality,  demand  his  own,  with  usury,  from  every  delin- 
quent, the  inquisition  will  press  hard  upon  those  who  are  ac- 
cused of  wasting  the  most  precious  of  their  Lord's  goods — 
the  immortal  mind,  made  to  appreciate  his  character  and 
promote  his  glory.  Upon  every  student  rests  this  fearful  re- 
sponsibility ;  and  every  Christian  student  will  recognize  and 
respect  it  with  a  degree  of  solemn  earnestness  proportioned 
to  his  intelligence  and  piety.  He  will  feel  that  "he  is  not 
his  own" — that  his  talents  and  opportunities  are  only  his  to 
improve  and  employ  conscientiously,  and  to  account  for  in  the 
last  day.  Under  such  convictions,  he  can  neither  idle  nor 
trifle.  He  will  find  in  them  a  sleepless,  faithful  monitor,  to 
rebuke  away  indolence  and  apathy ;  to  whisper  hope  and  he- 
roism into  his  fainting  spirit ;  to  prescribe  tejiiperance  in  all 
things  ;  to  endow  his  hours  with  such  a  sanctity  that  it  were 
sacrilege  to  waste  them  ;  to  give  law  to  his  resting,  his  ris- 
ing, and  his  recreation  ;  to  invoke  his  profounder  respect  for 
statutes  and  usages  established  for  the  maintenance  of  need- 
ful order,  and  for  the  protection  against  all  intrusion  of  time 
consecrated  to  study.     Such  is  the  natural  influence,  and  the 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.      183 

actual,  so  far  as  conscience  has  fair  play,  which  religion  ex- 
erts over  intellectual  improvement.  I  grieve  to  admit  tliat 
not  a  few^  nonii)ialhj  Christian  students  are  neither  industri- 
ous nor  law-ahiding,  though  idle  and  disorderly  are  epithets 
as  incongruous  to  their  holy  profession  as  profane  and  intem- 
perate. It  is  also  saddening  to  the  heart  to  observe  the  course 
of  too  many  Christian  young  men,  after  they  have  passed  the 
earlier  stages  of  literary  preparation.  They  cease  to  be  stu- 
dents as  soon  as  they  are  fairly  launched  upon  the  voyage  of 
life.  They  are  at  the  zenith  of  their  intellectual  greatness 
at  thirty  or  thirty-five.  A  modicum  of  professional  lore,  a 
poor  pittance  of  theology,  a  petty  curriculum  of  pulpit  prep- 
aration, is  all  they  ever  add  to  the  measure  of  attainment 
with  which  they  enter  upon  active  life.  Progress  from  hence- 
forth there  is  none,  except  in  the  wrong  direction.  The 
starved  intellect  dwindles  for  want  of  fresh  supplies  of  its 
natural  aliment ;  imagination  falters  and  grows  dim,  disgust- 
ed with  its  own  worn-out  imagery  ;  discourse  becomes  flat  and 
unprofitable,  without  freshness  or  point ;  and  at  fifty  you  have 
a  man  physically  strong,  but  intellectually  exhausted,  inca- 
pable of  doing  any  thing  pleasant  or  profitable  to  God  or  man. 
Every  such  sad  example  implies  gross  recreancy  to  Christian 
obligations.  Those  who  keep  the  commandment,  "  add  to 
their  virtue  knowledge  ;"  they  "  grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ ;"  and  their  intellectual  pathway  shines 
brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day.* 

*  The  limits  of  a  single  discourse  would  only  allow  a  passing  allu- 
sion to  the  subject  of  this  paragraph,  though  its  intrinsic  importance 
might  well  claim  a  far  more  extended  consideration.  The  evil  refer- 
red to  is  the  besetting  sin  of  educated  men  in  tlie  United  States,  which, 
so  far  as  I  have  enjoyed  opportunities  of  observation,  gives  them  a  bad 
distinction  in  comparison  with  those  of  other  countries.  With  regard 
to  the  great  body  of  our  graduates,  it  may  be  affirmed,  without  qualifi- 
cation, that  they  make  no  advancement  in  classical  and  scientific  knowl- 
edge after  leaving  college.  The  two  or  three  years  usually  devoted  to 
professional  studies,  carry  forward  the  work  of  mental  discipline  with 


184  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE     IN 

2.  Responsibility  to  God  is  the  most  powerful  of  all  mo- 
tives to  intellectual  exertion,  and  it  operates  upon  every  con- 

soine  good  effect ;  bat,  upon  their  entrance  into  active  life,  three  fourths 
of  our  scholars  bid  a  final  adieu  to  both  literature  and  science,  as  if  these 
were  only  fit  for  schoolboys,  and  of  no  further  use  for  mental  culture, 
for  graceful  accomplishment,  or  elegant  recreation.  We  have  an  in- 
creasing, though  still  a  veiy  small  class  of  professionally  litcrai-y  men — 
authors,  editors,  philosophers,  &c. — who  make  letters  an^science  their 
business.  We  may  add  to  these  the  professors  and  teachers  in  our 
leading  educational  establishments,  and  uovir  and  then  a  clergyman  or 
physician,  chiefly  of  tlie  younger  class:  the  residue  of  our  liberally  ed- 
ucated men  not  only  make  no  advancement  in  scholastic  attainments, 
but  are  actually  retrograding  to  a  point  where  a  page  of  Tacitus,  or  a 
proposition  in  Euclid,  becomes  to  them  the  profoundest  of  mysteries. 
Even  in  professional  learning,  little  progress  is  usually  made  beyond 
the  demand  of  an  imperative  necessity ;  and  it  is  only  iu  the  hands  of 
a  few  that  medicine,  law,  or  theology  becomes  a  really  liberal  profes- 
sion. It  seems  doubtful  whether  any  decided  improvement  will  very 
soon  be  achieved.  Growth  in  civilization,  and  the  keener  competition 
and  more  minute  and  better-defined  division  of  labor,  which  must  result 
from  a  dense  population,  and  the  prevalence  of  a  higher  general  intel- 
ligence, will  gradually  create  and  enforce  a  demand  for  better  literary 
qualifications.  Meantime  the  strong  inducements  to  active  biisiuess 
life — the  temptations  of  trade,  or  speculation,  and  other  methods  of 
money-making — will  continue  to  seduce  our  educated  men  to  desert  or 
neglect  their  proper  sphere.  Above  all,  the  bottomless  pit  of  politics 
will  still  swallow  up  its  hecatombs  of  noble  victims.  For  all  this  there 
is  really  no  remedy  in  our  present  state  of  society  ;  and  it  only  remains 
for  our  literary  institutions  to  use  all  diligence  in  repairing  the  waste. 
More  thai!  ever  is  it  incumbent  upon  them  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
education,  and  fui'nish  our  rising  scholars  with  the  greatest  practicable 
amount  of  good  cultivation,  since  it  is  quite  certain,  with  regard  to  the 
most  of  them,  that  they  will  cease  from  all  literary  improvement  as  soon 
as  they  become  their  own  teachers. 

So  far  as  these  strictures  are  applicable  to  Christian  scholars,  the  evil 
ought  to  find  its  cure  in  their  conscientiousness,  and  their  zeal  to  obtain 
the  highest  qualifications  for  usefulness.  To  these  moral  influences  are 
we  indebted  for  a  majority  of  the  examples  of  literaiy  industry  and  ex 
cellence  that  still  exist  among  us.  A  considerable  number  of  clergy 
men,  especially,  retain  their  habits  of  careful  study  and  mental  activity 
to  advanced  age.     It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that,  as  a  class,  they 


RELATION    TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  185 

scicntious  student  with  a  force  proportioned  to  liis  intelligence 
and  piety.     Religion  supplies  other  iuflueuces  auxiliary  to 

are  far  from  guiltless  of  the  shortcomings  ou  which  we  have  ventured 
to  comment. 

There  is  one  form  of  this  grievous  error  to  which  an  interesting  class 
of  our  graduates  are  especially  exposed,  and  which  merits,  on  that  ac- 
count, a  passing  notice.  I  refer  to  preacliers  and  candidates  for  the 
ministry,  of  whom  our  graduating  classes  annually  furnish  the  Church 
with  an  increasing  number.  A  large  majority  of  these  become  itiner- 
ant ministers,  a  peculiarity  in  their  mode  of  life  which  is  liable  to  exert 
a  special  iuduence  upon  intellectual  character.  The  frequent  changes 
involved  in  this  system  of  ministerial  labor,  though  by  no  means  incom- 
patible with  the  highest  intellectual  attainments,  and  confessedly  very 
favorable  to  a  zealous  and  effective  discharge  of  the  most  important 
ministerial  duties,  offer  to  those  who  are  willing  to  fall  into  such  a 
snare  some  peculiar  temptations  to  intellectual  sloth.  The  custom  of 
writing  sermons,  or  skeletons  of  sermons,  has  become  much  more  com- 
mon than  it  was  among  the  fathers  of  the  denomination ;  and  all,  or 
nearly  all  of  our  ministers  presen'e  in  manuscript  such  ample  minutes 
of  the  plan,  topics,  and  arguments  of  their  pulpit  exhibitions,  as  may 
serve  for  future  use.  The  propriety  of  such  a  course  is  unquestionable ; 
and  our  objections  are  only  directed  against  the  grievous,  ruinous  abuses 
to  which  it  is  perverted.  After  some  time  spent  in  the  ministry,  a  stu- 
dious man  finds  himself  in  possession  of  a  good  supply  of  prepared  dis- 
courses, sufficient,  in  all  probability,  to  meet  the  demands  of  a  circuit 
or  station  for  the  one  or  two  years  which  our  plan  allows  him  to  spend 
■with  the  same  congregation.  By  a  judicious  intermingling  of  these  old 
sermons  with  others  prepared  from  week  to  week,  and  adapted  to  the 
special  exigencies  of  the  work,  a  conscientious,  industrious  man  secures 
invaluable  time,  not  only  for  pastoral  duties,  but  for  such  mental  culture 
and  new  acquisitions  as  shall  insure  a  constant  growth  in  w^isdom,  in- 
fluence, and  usefulness,  from  youth  to  old  age.  To  those  who  know 
how  to  improve  it,  oin*  itinerant  ministry  offers  in  this  respect  a  special 
advantage  over  a  more  permaTieut  settlement ;  and  some  of  our  preach- 
ers eagerly  avail  themselves  of  its  facility.  Upon  not  a  few  promising 
young  men,  however,  this  peculiarity  of  our  system  operates  not  only 
disadvantageously,  but  fatally.  When  their  stock  of  sermons,  or  plans, 
has  accumulated,  so  far  as  to  answer  cun-ent  demands  upon  it,  they 
make  no  more,  and  cease  to  be  students.  There  is  an  end  to  all  im- 
provement, and  they  stagger  on  to  premature  mental  decrepitude  un- 
der the  burden  of  these  some  four  or  five  hundred  stale,  antiquated 


166  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

tliis,  which  act  upon  and  through  some  of  the  strongest  prin- 
ciples of  our  mental  and  moral  constitution.     It  is  an  incur- 

scrmons.  In  not  a  few  instiinces,  the  victims  of  this  stafienclous  of- 
fense against  the  human  understanding,  and  the  claims  of  God  upon 
his  ministers,  reach  their  climacteric  at  thirty  years  of  age,  after  which 
they  neither  study  nor  think,  unless  "we  are  to  dignify  as  intellectual 
efforts  the  half  hour  devoted,  from  week  to  week,  to  conning  over  the 
well-remembered,  venerable  manuscript.  Every  one  in  the  least  ac- 
quainted with  the  powers  and  laws  of  the  mind  is  able  to  comprehend 
the  stupendous  folly  of  these  men.  The  human  intellect  gains  expan- 
sion, and  vigor,  and  acuteness  by  activity.  It  must  work,  or  dwindle 
and  starve.  It  must  think — think  habitually,  earnestly,  consecutively 
— or  it  will,  ere  long,  lose  its  power  of  thinking.  The  perusal  and  re- 
perusal  of  yellow  manuscripts  is  not  study.  The  recollection  and  rep- 
etition of  old  sermons  is  not  thinking.  The  mind  must  do  something 
—  must  invent  something  fresh  —  must  work  and  wrestle  with  new 
problems  and  deep  propositions,  in  oi'der  to  give  hardness  and  vigor  to 
its  own  sinews.  The  hand  that  wields  the  hammer,  or  plies  the  grav- 
ing tool,  constantly  gains  strength  and  skill;  but,  suspended  in  a  sling, 
it  will  not  be  long  in  forgetting  its  cunning.  The  Hindoo  devotee,  who 
has  been  stationary  ever  since  he  learned  to  stand  on  one  foot,  has  also 
lost  the  power  of  locomotion. 

Our  objection  is  not  to  the  quality  of  the  old  sermons.  They  may 
be  very  good,  and  theoretically  very  well  adapted  to  the  existing  wants 
of  the  hearer.  It  is  possible  they  are  even  better  than  the  preacher 
may  now  be  able  to  produce.  All  this  may  veiy  likely  be  true,  and 
yet  they  may  be  useless^to  the  people  and  discreditable  to  the  preach 
er;  while  very  inferior  discourses,  fresh  from  the  mint  of  the  soul,  and 
blazing  with  the  fervors  of  an  excited,  laboring  mind,  will  awaken  pro- 
found emotioji  in  the  hearer's  as  well  as  the  jn-eacher's  heart.  Old 
sermons  are  preached  with  good  effect  by  men  who  are  still  in  tho 
habit  of  making  new  ones,  and  who  keep  their  intellects  thoroughly 
awake  by  study  and  invention.  They  then  receive  a  new  endowment 
of  life  and  power,  a  new  assimilation  to  the  pious  spirit,  by  passing 
through  such  an  intense  resuscitating  medium.  Without  this  fresh, 
vivifying  baptism,  those  repetitions  are,  irrespective  of  their  intrinsic 
quality,  the  stalest  and  most  unsavory  of  Imman  performances.  They 
remind  us  of  the  desiccated  preparations  of  the  botanist,  which  are 
quite  bereft  of  all  their  fragrance,  and  grace,  and  charming  colors, 
though  one  might  not  be  prepared  to  deny  that  they  still  retain  a 
mea.sure  of  latent  medicinal  virtue.     It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  first 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.       187 

able  fault  of  lower  motives  that  they  operate  unsteadily,  and 
cease,  for  the  most  part,  to  exert  any  salutary,  sufficient  au- 

2)rinciplej  tliiit  he  can  not  long  continue  a  useful,  nor  even  a  popular 
preacher,  who  has  ceased  to  be  a  student.  He  must  himself  gradually 
lose  all  relish  for  the  dry,  irksome  work  of  memory  and  repetition,  to 
which  he  dooms  himself  However  habit  or  temperament  may  enable 
him  to  preach  with  apparent  warmth  and  vivacity,  his  announcements 
of  truth  do  in  fact  no  longer  bear  the  sanction  and  endorsement  of  his 
own  deep,  living  convictions;  for  neither  reason,  nor  conscience,  nor 
faith  is  nmcli  concerned  in  the  reproduction.  If  this  sort  of  work  is 
distasteful  to  the  preacher,  it  soon  becomes  loathsome  to  the  hearer, 
with  whom  all  such  exhibitions  pass  for  mere  routine  or  declamation. 
A  clerical  brother  lately  said  to  me,  "  I  know  several  preachers  in  the 

Conference  who  have  not  sUidled  in  ten  or  twenty  years."     Such 

ministers  are  only  less  guilty  than  those  who  have  not  prayed  in  ten  or 
twenty  years  ;  for  it  is  quite  as  practicable  to  be  a  good  preacher  of  the 
Gospel  without  praying  as  without  studying.  No  minister  can  main- 
tain a  respectable  position,  and  satisfy  the  wants  of  an  intelligent  con- 
gregation, who  is  not  a  diligent  student.  No  matter  if  he  has  a  cart- 
load of  prepared  sermons,  and  they  as  good  as  ever  Paul  preached,  he 
must  bring  out  "  things  new"  as  well  as  old,  if  he  would  make  his  min- 
istrations either  profitable  or  acceptable  to  the  people.  At  least  half  of 
the  sermons  called  for  by  the  exigences  of  ministerial  labor  should  be 
produced  by  current  efforts.  To  say  nothing  of  doing  good  to  others, 
the  study  aiid  preparation  of  one  sermon  a  week  is  no  more  than  is 
requisite  for  the  best  nurture  of  mental  and  moral  life.  The  greatest 
boon  that  could  befall  many  preachers  would  be  the  conflagration  of 
their  old  store  of  manuscripts.  Any  thing  that  should  induce  or  com- 
pel them  to  return  to  studious  habits,  were  better  than  the  mental  in- 
activity which  dooms  so  many  good  men  to  actual  inefficiency  and  su- 
perannuation, at  a  time  of  life  when  experience  and  hoarded  wisdom 
should  qualify  them  for  the  most  extended  usefulness,  and  the  most 
salutaiy,  effective  pojiularity.  Self-educated  men  are  not  less — it  may 
be  they  are  even  more — exposed  to  this  deadly  sin  than  the  graduates 
of  our  colleges.  If  the  latter  often  mortify  their  friends,  and  bring  re- 
proach upon  the  cause  of  education  by  their  indolence,  and  consequent 
miserable,  petty  mediocrity,  the  former,  with  no  less  frequency,  disaji- 
point  the  favorable  hopes  awakened  by  their  early  proficiency,  and  fall 
back,  from  a  position  won  by  manly  efforts,  and  full  alike  of  honor  and 
of  promise,  to  a  grade  of  performances  and  aspirations  false  to  all  the 
traditions  and  anticipations  to  which  such  auspicious  beginnings  had 
given  rise  in  the  Church. 


188  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE    IN 

thorily,  at  periods  of  life  when  the  mind  is  yet  vigorous,  and 
susceptible  of  large  and  rapid  progress.      Self-interest,  as  we 

No  subject  coiinecfed  with  our  itinerant  ministry,  and  witb  the  great 
interests  providentially  intrusted  to  it,  is  more  worthy  of  deep,  solemn 
consideration  tliau  that  so  imperfectly  discussed  in  this  note.  That  the 
evil  referred  to  is  not  rare  among  us,  every  observing  man  knows  full 
well.  That  it  must,  to  whatever  extent  it  prevails,  impair  the  efBcien- 
cy,  the  respectability,  and  the  moral  integrity  of  our  ministry,  is  too 
painfully  obvious  to  require  proof  or  argument.  The  Church  has  need 
to  watch  vigilantly  against  this  great  delinquency.  Our  ministers,  both 
iu  open  Conference  and  in  their  private  intercourse,  are  wont  to  exer- 
cise over  each  other  a  supervision,  comj)rehensive  and  searching,  be- 
yond any  thing  known  among  other  denominations.  Something  might 
possibly  be  done  in  this  way  to  mitigate  a  great,  if  not  a  growing  evil. 
But  the  remedy  chiefly  to  be  relied  on  rests  with  individual  conscience 
with  our  young  ministers  especially,  whose  mental  habits  are  not  yet 
formed,  or,  if  formed,  not  yet  perverted.  It  is  for  them  to  determine 
whether,  with  the  increasing  advantages  of  education,  of  many  and 
cheap  books,  3nd  of  more  leisure  for  study,  our  ministry  shall  groio  in 
grace  and  knowledge — whether  our  revered  itinerancy  shall  continue  to 
show  itself  adapted  to  the  increasing  intelligence  and  refinement  of  the 
nge.  That  this,  and  much  more,  is  practicable,  we  do  most  devoutly 
believe ;  but  the  full  success  of  the  great  experiment  demands  a  great 
increase  of  knowledge  and  intellectual  accomplishments  among  our 
clergy.  Nothing  less  will  do.  Nothing  less  can  sustain  us  whei'e  we 
are,  or  prevent  decline  and  deterioration.  Ardent,  self-sacrificing  pie- 
ty is  a  qualification  always  presupposed  in  a  minister  of  Christ,  about 
which  there  is  no  need  that  any  thing  should  be  said  in  this  connection 
further  than  to  insist  npon  that  particular  manifestation  of  it  which  leads 
to  thorough,  systematic,  various,  protracted  study.  For  this  nothing  can 
be  taken  as  a  substitute.  True,  "  it  is  better  to  save  souls  than  to  study." 
The  effect  is  more  excellent  than  the  cause ;  but  it  can  not  exist  inde- 
pendent of  its  cause;  and  nothing  is  more  idle  than  the  common  plea 
of  much  preaching,  or  much  pastoral  visiting,  as  an  apology  for  little 
study,  and  poor,  stale  sermons.  Preaching,  effectual,  good  preaching, 
is  what  the  Gospel  relies  on  for  success,  and  this  without  diligent  study 
is  an  impossibility.  Whoever  attempts  to  divorce  what  God  has  joined 
together,  will  be  sufficiently  rebuked  by  an  unblessed,  uncomfortable, 
unwelcome  ministry.  He  may  l)e  popular,  and  even  useful,  iu  the  hey- 
day of  youth,  when  personal  advantages — sv.-eet  tones,  glossy  ringlets, 
flowing  sympathies  —  and  still  more,  good  hopes  generously  cherished 


RELATION     TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  189 

have  seen,  soon  contracts  the  intellect  and  hardens  the  heart 
— fatal  checks  upon  progi-ess,  deadly  foes  to  all  excellence. 
Amhition  puts  its  votaries  upon  other  expedients  than  liter- 
ary eflbrts  for  the  attainment  of  success.  Disappointment, 
too,  and  disgust,  with  "svhich  ambition  musf  generally  lay  its 
account,  impair  and  often  destroy  its  efficiency,  as  a  motive 
to  intellectual  activity,  v/lien  the  career  of  honorable  enter- 
prise has  only  commenced.  Many  a  gallant  spirit,  urged  on 
its  course  by  these  unchastened  impulses,  have  we  seen 
stranded  and  motionless  amid  the  sad  wreck  of  high  hopes, 
long  ere  his  sun  had  reached  its  meridian.  Now  it  is  the 
special  advantage  of  the  Christian  motive  that  it  acts  with 
a  steady,  and  even  increasing  force,  to  the  end  of  life.  No 
disappointment  can  chill  its  energy,  for  that  flows  forth  upon 
the  soul  from  inexhaustible  perennial  sources. 

It  is  also  a  consideration  full  of  the  mightiest  impulses,  that 
intellectual  growth  and  amelioration,  like  moral,  are  achieved 
for  eternal  duration.  The  labor  requisite  for  acquisition  and 
discipline  is  lightened  and  sweetened  by  the  reflection  that 
it  is  to  qualify  an  immortal  spirit  the  better  to  perform  its 
functions ;  more  perfectly  to  understand,  and  more  keenly  to 
enjoy  all  that  God  shall  reveal  or  enjoin  through  the  long 
annals  of  an  endless  hfe.  The  mind  does  not  die,  and  he 
who  sends  it  onward  upon  its  sublime  career,  enlarged  and 
trained  by  wholesome  discipline,  and  richly  furnished  with 
the  knowledge  of  imperishable  truths,  "lays  up  treasure 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  coiTupt."  Nothing  in  religion 
or  enlightened  philosophy  will  justify  the  fear  that  the  high 
intellectual  attributes  with  which  the  redeemed  soul  enters 

by  the  Church,  and  not  yet  blasted,  plead  in  his  favor;  but  some  higher 
demands  await  his  maturer  years.  Gray  hairs  must  come  crowned  with 
superior  wisdom  and  piety,  if  they  will  conciliate  reverence  and  affec- 
tion ;  and  he  alone  who  does  not  despair  of  remaining  always  young, 
is  excusable  for  omitting  to  provide  betimes  for  the  exigencies  of  a  pe- 
riod which  will  sternly  require  the  fulfillment  of  all  early  promises. 


190  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

. tf 

heaven,  may  not  find  M'ortliy  and  significant  employment 
there.  The  pious  student,  then,  may  cxtfllingly  write  doAvn 
for  his  motto,  "I  study  for  eternity  ;"  and  in  so  sublime 
a  sentiment  will  he  find  unfailing  encouragement  to  patient 
industry  and  persevering  labor. 

3.  In  nothing,  perhaps,  is  the  great  superiority  of  the  Chris 
tian,  over  all  other  motives,  more  manifest  than  in  the  uni- 
Ibrm  and  powerful  co-operation  which  it  secures  of  the  emo- 
tional with  the  intellectual  forces  of  the  mind.  All  work  is 
briskly  done  when  the  heart  is  in  it.  Eminently  true  is  this 
of  intellectual  labor ;  and  from  the  schoolboy  rmder  the  ush- 
er's rod,  to  the  grave  philosopher,  those  mental  tasks  which 
awaken  a  lively  interest,  and  are  performed  with  satisfaction, 
are  easily  and  rapidly  achieved.  Whatever  is  attempted  un- 
der the  high  sanctions  of  Christian  obligation,  possesses  this 
advantage  in  an  eminent  degree.  It  is  done  to  please  God, 
and  to  glorify  his  name.  It  aflbrds,  therefore,  to  the  pious 
spirit,  an  opportunity,  ever  eagerly  embraced,  for  discharging 
a  debt  of  gratitude,  and  ofiering  testimonials  of  duty  and  loy- 
alty. The  heart  at  once  warms  to  such  an  enterprise,  and 
all  the  powers  of  the  soul  gladly  co-operate  in  a  work  of  an 
import  so  high.  The  Christian  scholar  is  thus  enabled  to 
be  always  in  earnest.  His  love  and  fidelity  to  God,  and  his 
gratitude  to  Christ,  are  concerned  in  the  most  efiective  dis- 
charge of  this  important  class  of  duties,  and  his  prayers  and 
sacraments  are  not  felt  to  be  more  obligatory  upon  him  than 
the  claims  of  the  study  and  the  lecture-room.  He  learns  to 
prosecute  every  science,  and  fulfill  every  scholastic  engage- 
ment, under  the  supervision  of  an  all-seeing  and  never-sleep- 
ing Eye.  How  feeble  and  inconstant  are  all  the  motives 
which  selfishness  and  ambition  can  furnish,  in  comparison 
with  those  which  the  love  of  God,  and  conscious  amenability 
to  Him,  are  able  to  aAvaken  in  the  pious  heart  I  Let  no  one 
hastily  conclude  that  this  is  a  merely  theoretical  view  of  the 
Bubjcct,  of  no  application  to  the  matter  in  hand.     On  the 


RELATION     TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  191 

contrary,  it  is  a  view  applicable  to  every  Christian  scholar, 
and  constitutes  the  actual  motive  of  his  conduct,  in  so  far  as 
he  has  any  claim  to  the  name  of  Christian.  He  studies  as 
he  would  toil  in  any  other  sphere — as,  called  with  a  higher 
vocation,  he  would  preach  the  Gospel,  or  go  upon  a  missiou 
to  the  heathen — that  he  may  glorify  God  in  the  performanco 
of  the  duties  providentially  assigned  him.  They  know  little 
of  the  deep  sentiments  and  holy  aspirations  of  pious  young 
men  in  our  colleges,  who  doubt  whether  they  pursue  their 
self-denying  career,  and  struggle  with  narrow  means,  and 
often  with  feeble  health,  under  the  lofty  impulses  which  re- 
ligion inspires.  With  very  many  of  them,  these,  I  am  sure, 
constitute  the  motive  and  the  solace  of  their  toils  ;  and  I  will 
not  hesitate  to  avow  that  the  example  of  such  young  men, 
toiling  on  for  a  series  of  years,  amid  discouragements  of 
many  kinds,  that  they  may  by-and-by  be  qualified  for  use- 
fulness in  the  Master's  vineyard,  has  often  proved  most  in- 
structive and  sustaining  to  me,  and  has  admonished  me  to 
stand  patiently  and  bravely  in  my  lot,  albeit  ready  to  faint 
under  the  pressure  of  burdens  disproportioned  to  my  strength. 
4.  A  similar  augmentation  of  spiritual  forces  comes  in  upon 
the  pious  student  from  another  quarter.  Benevolence,  and 
an  ardent  desire  to  do  good  to  mankind,  take  the  place  of  the 
narrow  selfishness  which,  under  less  favorable  conditions,  con- 
stitutes the  chief  incentive  to  exertion.  We  know  to  what 
heights  of  self-sacrificing  eflbrt  and  virtue,  philanthropy  has 
been  able  to  elevate  the  great  benefactors  of  mankind  ;  through 
what  dangers,  and  over  what  obstacles  it  has  borne  them  on- 
ward to  their  angelic  achievements.  This  ambition  to  miti- 
gate the  woes,  and^augment  the  happiness  of  others,  pours 
all  its  generous,  powerful  impulses  into  the  bosom  of  many  a 
pious  student,  and  becomes,  the  sleepless  monitor  of  his  wak- 
ing, Avorking  hours.  As  the  love  of  God  enhsts  all  the  ener- 
gies and  stabilities  of  Christian  principle  on  the  side  of  earn- 
est, persevering  industry,  love  to  man  awakens  and  presses 


192  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 

into  the  same  service  all  the  strong  sympathies  of  our  hu- 
manity. These  are  confessedly  the  most  powerful  of  all  the 
agencies  that  go  to  influence  the  conduct  or  modify  the  char- 
acter of  men.  They  minister  amazing  energy  to  the  mind. 
They  rouse  every  dormant  power  into  action.  They  arm  the 
soul  with  preternatural  efficiency.  They  make  the  mind  in- 
ventive, vigilant,  and  daring.  Faith,  hope,  and  charity  have 
each  their  functions  to  fulfill  in  every  department  of  Chris- 
tian action,  and  nowhere  else  more  than  in  the  student's  ca- 
reer ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity — the  most  anima- 
ting, the  most  powerful,  the  most  enduring  of  all  the  motives 
that  minister  earnestness  and  encouragement  to  the  Chris- 
tian student. 

5.  It  will  hardly  be  deemed  a  diversion  from  this  strain  of 
argument  to  remark  upon  the  elevating,  plastic  influence 
of  prosecuting  a  protracted  literaiy  course  at  the  forming  pe- 
riod of  life,  under  these  lofty,  pure,  and  disinterested  motives. 
You  can  not  imagine  any  other  course  so  well  calculated  to 
form  large-minded,  generous,  upright  men.  Whoever  makes 
the  will  of  God  the  rule,  and  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  wel- 
fare of  men,  the  chief  objects  of  his  intellectual  eflbrts,  through 
a  series  of  years,  subjects  his  mind,  as  well  as  his  heart,  to  a 
meliorating  process  of  unparalleled  efficacy.  Nothing  base, 
or  degrading,  or  selfish  should  be  expected  to  survive  such  a 
course  of  discipline,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of 
any  virtue  fitted  to  adorn  or  strengthen  the  charadler  which 
should  not  find  in  it  precisely  the  conditions  most  favorable 
to  vigorous,  ample  develojjmcnt. 

It  is  also  material  to  remark,  that  such  a  scholastic  career 
tends  powerfully  to  supply  the  great  desi*  ratum  in  educated 
men — the  harmony  of  the  mind  and  the  heart,  the  joint 
working  of  strong  intellect  and  strong  feeling — upon  which 
all  great  mental  efficiency  and  all  true  eloquence  depend, 
'and  without  which  the  scholar  can  never  hope  to  wield  a 
great  and  permanent  influence  over  the  most  precious  inter- 


RELATION     TO     MENTAL     CULTURE.  191 


ests  of  man  and  society.  The  arts  of  the  rhetorician,  however 
dihgently  phed,  are  all  at  fault  here.  Rules  for  managing 
the  voice,  or  the  eye,  or  the  hands,  and  other  physical  aux- 
iliaries to  persuasion  and  oratory,  can  but  kindle  a  cold,  lus- 
treless fire,  vv^hich  shall  be  as  the  crackling  of  thorns  ;  while 
a  well-endowed  nature,  diligently  trained  by  education,  and 
put  in  harmony  with  God  and  itself  by  religion,  shall  be  able 
to  pour  forth,  spontaneously,  a  tide  of  persuasive  eloquence, 
whenever  invoked  by  a  worthy  occasion.  This,  as  is  well 
known,  is  the  perfect  ideal  held  up  by  the  rhetoricians  to  as- 
pirants after  forensic  reputation  ;  but  it  mostly  escapes  them 
that  it  is  one  of  those  priceless  gifts  which  can  not  be  won 
by  unsanctified  labor,  but  which,  in  a  very  important  sense, 
cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights. 

6.  I  will  add,  that  education,  prosecuted  under  the  au- 
spices of  religion,  enjoys  a  great  facility  in  the  freedom  of  its 
subjects  from  the  low  tastes,  bad  passions,  and  vicious  h?ib- 
its,  which  constitute  chief  obstacles  to  proficiency  in  learning. 
These  are  utterly  incompatible  with  sincere  piety,  and  can 
not  coexist  with  it;  while  any  Christian  profession,  not  whol- 
ly reckless  of  reputation  and  consistency,  must  avoid  the 
grosser  and  more  degrading  forms  of  immorality.  Every  de- 
gree of  religious  principle  and  restraint,  therefore,  contributes 
a  liighly  important  influence  toward  the  success  of  educa- 
tional efibrts ;  while  deep  and  ardent  piety,  welcomed  as  the 
guide  in  literary  pursuits,  conducts  to  degrees  of  excellence 
and  success  unattainable  on  lower  principles. 

My  inferences  from  this  protracted  discussion  must  be  few 
and  brief. 

1.  Let  every  young  man,  especially  let  every  educated 
young  man,  pause  at  the  com»iencement  of  his  career,  till 
he  thoroughly  comprehends  the  importance  of  setting  out 
with  a  proper  theory  of  life.  Let  him  "  arise  and  shake  him- 
self."    Let  him  spurn  away  from  him,  for  one  holy  hour,  tho 

I 


194                              CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE    IN 
^ 

blandishments  of  ease  and  pleasure.  Let  him  burst  from 
the  bondage  of  all  unmanly,  unscholarly  habits,  like  a  brave, 
high-toned  spirit,  resolved  to  be  his  own  master,  and  to  rule 
himself  well.  He  should  ascend  to  some  lofty  mount  of  vi- 
sion, some  Pisgah,  from  whose  summit  the  whole  land  "  that 
remaineth  to  be  possessed"  shall  be  clearly  visible  to  his  earn- 
est, honest  gaze.  Scorning  to  be  hcodwinlvcd  and  cheated 
by  mere  illusions,  let  him  penetrate  into  the  heart  and  real- 
ity of  his  whole  destiny,  doing  impartial  justice  to  the  claims 
and  dignity  of  the  mind  as  well  as  the  body — of  the  distant 
and  the  future  na  less  than  of  the  near  and  the  present. 
With  eternity  and  God  before  his  eyes,  and  some  reasonable, 
decent  regard  for  his  own  well-being,  let  him  come  up  to  the 
gieat  choice  that,  once  for  all,  he  must  make  for  himself : 
"  If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  Him  ;  if  Baal,  then  follow  him." 
Let  him  remember  that  the  principle  Avhich  he  adopts  be- 
comes henceforward  a  living,  molding  influence.  It  will 
enter  and  dwell  in  the  depths  of  his  nature — a  well  of  water 
springing  up  and  overflowing  the  soul,  imparting  to  it,  through 
the  long  ages  of  the  future,  Its  own  properties  and  hues.  He- 
member,  young  man,  you  are  selecting  a  companion  for  the 
voyage  of  your  entire  existence,  whose  manners,  habits,  and 
sentiments  so  close  and  long  an  intimacy  wiU  make  your 
own.  You  are  determining  what  meat  your  soul  shall  be 
nurtured  upon — what  shall  be  the  complexion  of  your  future 
being.  In  forming  a  library,  you  would  have  good,  and  not 
bad,  silly,  corrupting  books.  In  choosing  a  teacher  or  a  place 
of  education,  you  would  avoid  a  driveler,  and  require  the  pro- 
tection of  discipline  and  good  order.  Your  physician  must 
not  be  a  quack  nor  a  pretender.  You  are  ambitious  to  give 
your  adhesion  to  true  and  approved,  not  to  antiquated  and 
exploded  systems  of  philosophy.  In  choosing  your  principles 
of  action,  and  subjecting  your  mind  to  influences  which  must 
form  its  character  and  control  its  destiny,  you  consent  to  re- 
ceive into  your  bosom  an  agency  more  potent  than  books,  or 


RELATIO^    TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  195 

teachers,  or  schools  ;  more  efficient  than  the  physician's  most 
heroic  remedies  ;  more  authoritative  than  all  the  sects  of 
philosophers.  You  are  thus  called  upon  to  assert  the  high- 
est privilege,  and  perform  the  highest  function,  of  a  free,  re- 
deemed, heaven-born  spirit.  Show  that  you  are  M^orthy  of 
the  sacred  trust  which  God,  in  His  providence,  confers  upon 
you — the  office  of  taking  care  of  yourself. 

2.  Having  deliberately  adopted  a  right  principle  of  action, 
reverence  and  obey  it.  Make  it  the  law  of  your  life,  from 
which  no  temptation,  or  interest,  or  accident  shall  ever  se- 
duce you  to  swerve.  It  is  an  emanation  from  the  Divine 
Wisdon>  fallen  vxpon  you,  as  a  lamp  for  your  feet.  It  is  the 
sum  and  highest  expression  of  all  genial  philosophies.  Come 
what  will — ruat  cerium,  "though  heaven  and  earth  pass 
away" — resolve  that  no  jot  or  tittle  of  this  law  shall  be  mar- 
red, or  dishonored,  or  shorn  of  its  authority.  It  shall  be  your 
charmed  talisman,  before  which  evil  spirits  will  cry  ouf  in 
despair,  or  be  smitten  dumb  with  terror.  It  shall  be  your 
passport  to  excellence,  and  reputation,  and  power,  and  honest 
fame,  at  the  presentation  of  which  barred  gates  will  open  be- 
fore you  to  all  choice  and  precious  things.  A  conscientious, 
early,  and  absolute  surrender  of  the  life  to  the  guidance  of 
duty,  brings  into  the  mind  a  power  far  more  valuable  than 
would  be  the  acquisition  of  new  faculties  ;  it  quadruples  the 
efficiency  of  the  old.  It  is  better  than  genius  or  eloquence, 
and  is  often  a  good  substitute  for  them.  It  simplifies  all 
the  movements  of  life.  It  cuts  short  a  thousand  struggles 
with  temptation  and  passion.  It  is  a  thread  of  gold  in  the 
hands  of  inexperienced  youth  and  care-worn  manhood,  to 
conduct  the  willing  and  obedient  through  the  dark,  pathless 
labyrinth  of  this  world.  Ordinary  capacity  trained  and  op- 
erating under  this  influence,  in  the  end,  outshines  and  out- 
strips the  best  parts  without  it.  Not  a  class  graduates  in 
this,  or  any  other  college,  which  can  not  furnish  living  illus- 
trations of  this  triith.     So  profound  is  my  conviction  on  thir 


196  CHRISTIAN    TRINCIP^ 


point,  that  I  do  not  hesitate  to  proclaim  it  as  the  true,  in- 
falhble  way  to  success.  Granted  a  subject  for  our  experi- 
ment, not  mentally  halt,  or  maimed,  or  blind,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  merely  common  faculties,  and  a  liberal  education,  pros- 
ecuted under  the  auspices  of  pure,  high  principles,  shall  make 
him  every  whit  a  man,  fit  for  any  profession  or  vocation  to 
which  society  calls  her  intelligent,  cultivated  sons. 

I  must  subjoin  the  additional  remark,  that  nothing  begets 
such  utter  despair  of  success  in  teaching,  no  matter  what  the 
mental  capacity,  as  indiflcrence  to  moral  and  conscientious 
obhgations.  There  is  really  no  hope  for  a  young  man  who 
will  not  listen  to  the  voice  of  duty.  He  has  fallen  a  prey 
to  a  mortal  disease,  for  which  no  human  skill  can  provide  a 
remedy.  The  voice  of  duty  is  the  voice  of  God — an  inborn, 
heaven-sent  guide.  Not  to  obey  it  is  to  revolt  against  our 
own  constitution ;  it  is  as  if  one  should  refuse  to  give  heed 
to  the  intimations  of  his  senses — his  eyes,  his  ears,  or  his 
touch — and  will  as  certainly,  and  by  as  dire  a  philosophical 
necessity,  bring  upon  him  hopeless,  irretrievable  misfortune. 
"When  this  mental  disease  is  once  established,  I  could  wish 
never  to  see  its  victim  enter  the  doors  of  a  college,  or  armed 
with  education,  to  be  no  ordinary  scourge  to  himself  and  so- 
ciety. Let  such  a  one  be  consigned  to  some  narroAv  sphere 
of  laborious  life,  where  there  is  least  room  to  encounter  tempt- 
ation' or  exert  influence,  and  where  an  urgent  demand  for 
strenuous,  incessant  toil  may  counteract  and  subdue  more 
harmful  tendencies. 

3.  I  shall  conclude  with  a  very  simple  practical  direction. 
Always  be  ready  to  avow  your  principles  of  action.  Scorn 
concealment.  Put  out  your  true  colors  to  the  gaze  of  men 
and  angels.  There  is  a  false  prudence,  a  mock  modesty, 
which  inculcates  the  opposite  method.  It  discourages  con- 
fession, as  savoring  of  ostentation,  and  would  have  us  leave 
the  world  to  infer  the  existence  of  virtuous  principle  from 
our  conduct.     In  most  instances  this  is  but  a  poltroon's  ex- 


RELATION     TO    MENTAL     CULTURE.  197 

pedieut  to  avoid  responsibility,  and  save  a  convenient  posi- 
tion for  treachery  or  evasion.  It  is  well  and  safe  to  stand 
committed  to  the  right,  that  the  world  may  know  in  advance 
where  you  will  be  found  in  any  day  of  trial  ;  and  it  is  a  re- 
flection upon  a  good  man's  intelligence  or  integrity  to  have 
his  opinions  and  principles  forever  unsettled  or  in  doubt  So- 
ciety has  a  right  to  know  what  it  may  expect  from  him,  and 
justly  suspects  liim  of  interested  and  dishonest  aims  Avheu 
he  chooses  to  remain  undecided  and  uncommitted  till  popu- 
lar suffrage  has  announced  the  safe  way.  Educated  men 
are  the  natural  sources  and  guides  of  popular  opinion,  and 
they  are  bound  to  stand  forth  boldly  to  battle  with  prejudice 
and  breast  the  inundation  of  passion,  though  at  some  risk  of 
being  swept  away  by  its  fury.  The  principles  of  the  edu- 
cated, active,  influential  men,  of  every  community,  generally 
become  its  public  sentiment.  This  living  embodiment  and 
expression  of  reason,  truth,  and  righteousness,  acts  upon  the 
multitude  with  vastly  more  directness  and  efficiency  than 
books  of  morals  and  religion  ;  and  as  it  constitutes  the  most 
eflbctual  method  for  the  formation  and  vigorous  maintenance 
of  a  sound  public  sentiment,  so  it  is  chiefly  relied  upon  for 
that  function.  On  this  account  it  was  that  the  laws  of  Ath- 
ens held  that  citizen  an  enemy  to  the  state  who  remained  a 
neutral  in  any  important  crisis  or  question  of  general  inter- 
est. The  Redeemer  of  the  world  has  given  to  this  equita- 
ble principle  the  sanction  of  religion,  and  it  is  only  they  who 
confess  him  before  men  whom  he  will  confess  before  the  an- 
gels in  heaven. 

Let  every  one  who  would  not  become  a  mere  puppet  and 
time-server  beware  of  feeling  more  solicitude  for  promotion 
than  he  does  for  his  principles.  If  they  are  to  be  put  down, 
it  is  a  misfortune  and  a  snare  to  rise  ;  and  he  should  blash, 
and  suspect  himself  a  knave,  who  is  conscious  of  grudging 
the  sacrifice  which  it  may  cost  him  to  be  an  honest  man.  No 
valuable  ends,  besides  those  of  selfish  or  profligate  ambition 


198  CHRISTIAN     PRINCIPLE     IN 

can  ever  be  secured  by  such  dishonorable  successes  ;  and  any 
but  a  weak  or  unscrupulous  man  will  prefer  to  bide  liis  time, 
and  wait  for  more  auspicious  days,  when  God,  whose  attri- 
butes ever  side  Avith  the  right,  will  pluck  its  drowned  honors 
from  the  deep,  and  make  the  conscientious  and  the  brave 
sharers  in  its  triumph.  Whoever  covets  promotion  while  his 
principles  arc  under  the  ban,  must  fall  back  upon  the  expe- 
dients and  resources  of  party,  which  is  always  framed  and 
held  together  by  compromises  in  which  principle  is  sacrificed 
to  policy.  Into  this  turbid  Maelstrom,  from  which  virtue  and 
conscience  never  come  forth  without  a  stain,  good  but  ambi- 
tious men,  of  facile  morality  and  feeble  purposes,  are  ever 
ready  to  plunge. 

As  a  good  man  is  ever  bound  to  manifest  his  principles  in 
full  view  of  the  world,  so  should  he,  with  a  yet  intenser  so- 
licitude, strive  to  keep  them  boldly  and  vividly  exposed  to  his 
own  mind.  He  should  accustom  himself  to  gaze  upon  them 
with  profound,  and  even  awful  respect.  His  soul  should  be 
pervaded  by  a  deep,  abiding  sense  of  their  importance,  their 
sanctity,  and  their  authority.  Both  the  understanding  and 
the  heart  need  maintain  the  most  intimate  and  conscious 
connection  with  the  pure,  sacred  springs  from  which  they  de- 
rive their  light  and  inspiration.  In  the  great  questions  of 
/lumanity,  morals,  and  religion,  with  which  these  latter  days 
are  rife,  the  Christian  scholar  should  even  hesitate  t(f  yield 
himself  to  the  guidance  of  his  most  virtuous  habits,  or  to  the 
most  deliberate  and  unsuspected  of  his  by-gone  conclusions, 
or  to  the  conservative  traditions  which  he  may  have  imbibed 
from  his  converse  with  good  books  and  wise  men.  In  mat- 
ters of  slight  import  and  perpetual  recurrence,  these  are  suffi- 
cient safeguards  against  erroneous  opinion  or  vicious  action, 
but  not  in  the  great  struggle  for  moral  and  social  meliorations 
in  whi(;h  the  educated  men  of  this  age  are  called  to  engage. 
He  who  would  command  the  best  resources  for  this- high  en- 
terprise, must  penetrate  deeper  than  habit,  or  opinion,  or  au* 


RELATION  TO  MENTAL  CULTURE.       190 

tliority.  He  must  live  iu  hourly  contact,  and  conscious,  lov- 
ing communion  with  the  principles  of  truth,  righteousness, 
and  mercy,  that  are  within  him.  He  must  draw  from  the 
deep  sources  of  all  moral  and  intellectual  power,  and  require 
of  every  cause  which  asks  sympathy  and  co-operation,  that 
it  obtain  afresh  the  approval  of  his  reason  and  his  conscience. 
His  heart  must  beat,  lii^bosom  heave,  and  his  eye  flash  only 
at  the  bidding  of  the  great,  deep.  Holy  principles  which  his 
own  strenuous  efforts  and  the  grace  of  God  have  imbedded 
in  his  nature,  to  minister  light  to  his  soul,  and  vigor  to  his 
arm,  and  fire  to  his  eloquence.  In  the  dogmas  of  such  a 
philosophy  must  the  philanthropist  and  the  Christian  seek 
for  strength.  Here  is  the  inexhaustible  source  of  the  only 
species  of  power  of  which  a  good  man  may  be  innocently 
ambitious. 

Your  thoughts,  young  gentlemen,  have  all  along  outrun 
my  speculations.  From  the  first  you  anticipated  my  conclu- 
sions. Remote  as  was  our  starting-point,  abstract  and  spec- 
ulative as  is  our  argument,  we  find  ourselves  conducted  to 
the  true  source  of  wisdom  and  virtue.  Behold  in  the  cross 
of  Christ  the  only  sure  guaranty  for  intellectual  excellence 
and  success  !  Does  the  student  need  a  loftjs  omnipotent,  un- 
dying motive  to  sustain  him  in  his  long  struggle  with  labor, 
disappointment,  and  temptation — with  the  world's  unfriend- 
liness;- and  his  own  manifold  infirmities?  Such  a  motive 
he  finds  in  the  Gospel,  and  nowhere  else.  Are  noble  senti- 
ments, strong,  deep  sympathies,  and  pure,  powerful  feelings, 
indispensable  agents  in  the  highest  intellectual  performan- 
ces? They  are  supplied  in  the  principles  and  experiences 
of  that  religion  which  inculcates,  as  the  sura  of  all  righte- 
ousness, perfect^evotion  and  perfect  benevolence — that  "we 
love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  the  heart,  and  our  neighbor 
as  ourselves."  Are  the  tastes  to  be  elevated,  the  appetites 
subdued,  and  the  passions  controlled,  in  order  to  secure  to 
the  mind's  operations  freedom  from  all  impediments  and  dis- 


200  CHRISTIAN    PRINCIPLE,    ETC. 

trading  influences  ?  This  miracle,  too,  the  Gospel  can  ao 
complish.  It  is  profitable  for  all  things.  "  Love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suflbring,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temper- 
ance," are  its  legitimate  fruits.  "  They  that  are  Christ's, 
have  crucified  the  flesh,  with  the  affections  and  lusts."  They 
are  endowed  with  "  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  and  lovely, 
and  of  good  report."  • 

I  have  brought  you  to  the  cross,  my  friends,  and  I  leave 
you  there.  0  be  content  to  receive  your  illumination  from 
this,  the  great  central  light  of  the  universe  I  Hence — if  you 
will  cultivate  the  loftiest  ambition,  and  secure  the  best  at- 
tainments— hence  draw  your  inspiration.  Hither  come  for 
power  and  for  joy  ;  hither  bring  all  your  honors  and  suc- 
cesses, and  consecrate  them  "  to  Him  who  hath  loved  us, 
and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  liis  own  blood."  Write  the 
name  of  Christ  upon  your  banner  ;  exalt  the  cross  high  above 
all  idols  :  "  In  hoc  s/g?io  vmces."     Be 

"  Siloa's  brook,  that  flow'd 
Fast  by  tlie  oracles  of  God," 
your  Castalia. 

To  such  good  auspices  it  is  my  privilege  once  more  affec- 
tionately to  commend  you  ;  and  may  the  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you,  new  and  ever.     Amen. 


EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS,    ETC.  201 


IV. 

EARLY  PIETY  THE  BASIS  OF  ELEVATED  CHARACTER. 

A  DISCOURSE   TO   THE  GRADUATING  CLASS  OF   THE  WESLEYAN 
UNIVERSITY.       1849. 

I  have  written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and 
the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked 
one. — 1  John,  ii.,  14. 

The  Gospel  demands  of  every  human  being  an  unreserved 
consecration  of  body  and  soul,  with  all  their  energies  and  ca- 
pabilities, throughout  the  entire  period  of  his  probation.  In 
thus  claiming  for  God  all  the  services  w^hich  a  mortal  man, 
aided  by  Divine  grace,  can  render,  it  puts  forth  a  claim  upon 
any  peculiar  powers,  endowments,  or  faculties  with  which  he 
may  be  providentially  endowed  or  intrusted.  In  asserting 
its  rightful  dominion  over  our  entire  earthly  career,  it  pro- 
claims the  Divine  right  to  reign  with  an  undivided  and  un- 
rivaled authority  over  each  period  of  life.  Every  talent  is 
confided  to  us  under  the  tacit  condition  that  it  shall  be  used 
and  improved  in  accordance  with  the  will  and  design  of  the 
great  Giver.  Days,  and  months,  and  years  are  added  to  our 
existence  here  below,  because  they  supply  us  with  more  op- 
portunities and  advantages  for  working  out  our  own  salva- 
tion, and  promoting  the  well-being  of  others  ;  for  building  up 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  making  manifest  the  glory  of 
God.  For  the  attainment  of  these  high  ends,  much  reliance 
is  placed  upon  human  exertion,  and  the  physical  and  intel- 
lectual resources  of  every  age  and  station  are  tasked  to  the 
uttermost.  Even  the  morning  of  existence,  and  the  child- 
hood of  religious  life,  are  pressed  into  this  great  enterprise. 


202  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

"  I  write  unto  you,  little  children,  because  your  sins  are  for- 
given you  for  His  name's  sake."  The  glow,  and  out-burst- 
ing, joyous  gratitude  of  the  new-born  soul — the  fervors  of 
his  "  first  love" — the  fresh  lustre  of  his  "  beautiful  garments," 
become  potent  agencies  for  good,  and  no  more  pleasant  in- 
cense than  his  ever  rises  up  to  Heaven. 

The  mature  piety  and  deep  acquaintance  with  Divine 
things,  which  are  the  result  of  long  experience  and  habitual 
communion  with  God,  also  have  their  special  vocation  under 
the  Gospel  economy.  "  I  write  unto  you,  fathers,  because 
ye  have  known  Him  that  is  from  the  beginning."  These 
"  old  disciples"  constitute  the  link  of  connection  between  the 
existing  Christian  Church  and  the  Church  of  history,  as  well 
as  between  the  Church  militant  and  the  Church  triumphant. 
They  are  the  channels  through  w^iich  the  tide  of  spiritual 
life  has  flowed  down  upon  us  from  the  ages  of  the  past. 
They  are  the  depositaries  of  reverend  traditions,  and  the  con- 
servators and  models  of  orthodoxy  in  opinion  and  purity  of 
life.  Without  being  conscious  of  exercising  so  high  a  func- 
tion, they  have  made  the  Church  what  it  is.  Our  Chris- 
tianity, with  all  its  excellences  a»  well  as  its  imperfections, 
has  been  derived  from  theirs.  It  has,  no  doubt,  undergone 
some  modifications.  It  has,  in  some  respects,  deteriorated  in 
our  hands.  In  others,  it  has  grown  better  ;  but,  as  a  whole, 
it  is  a  natural  and  fair  derivation  from  the  waning  Christian 
age,  to  which  a  new  and  vigorous  religious  generation  are 
rapidly  succeeding.  We  sometimes  unconsciously  look  upon 
the  company  of  venerable  disciples  who  move  in  the  van  of 
our  heavenward  march,  as  having  really,  and  to  all  import- 
ant ends,  accomplished  their  warfare  and  won  the  victory. 
Should  all  others  forsake  the  Savior,  they,  we  feel  quite  sure, 
will  never  participate  in  the  crime  ;  for  they  have  lived  unto 
God  till  religion  has,  through  grace,  become  a  sort  of  second 
nature,  in  which  all  their  habits,  and  sentiments,  aTrd  aspira- 
tions, and  joys  have  their  source  and  support.     To  turn  them 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  203 

away  from  God  and  the  heavenly  inheritance  must  require 
some  great  moral  couviilsion.  It  would  be  like  the  annul 
ment  of  the  law  of  gravitation — like  thrusting  a  rolling  plan- 
et from  its  appointed  orb.  We  do  not  subscribe  to  the  ina- 
missibility  of  grace,  and  the  inevitable  salvation  of  all  souls 
once  regenerated,  and  yet  we  firmly  believe  that  these  fa- 
thers and  mothers  in  Israel  will  never  fall.  They  will  abide 
in  the  old  paths,  whoever  turns  back.  They  remember  the 
days  of  old.  They  "  know  Him  that  is  from  the  beginning." 
So  long,  at  least,  as  they  live,  there  will  be  true  witnesses. 
Their  trumpet  shall  give  a  certain  sound.  They  are  living 
epistles  of  Christ,  which  shall  continue  to  be  read  of  all  men. 
So  long  as  they  constitute  a  part  of  the  life  of  the  Church, 
the  Church  can  not  lose  its  vitality.  While  their  presence 
and  prayers  among  us  will,  certainly  conciliate  the  Divine  fa- 
vor, and  perpetuate  a  holy  seed,  they  reprove  our  backslid- 
kigs,  and  warn  us  of  dangers,  and  recall  to  us  the  landmarks 
if  truth,  and  experience,  and  duty. 

Let  us  thank  God  for  so  bright,  a  manifestation  of  His 
^race  in  the  fathers,  who  still  bless  and  guide  us  by  their 
counsels,  and  in  the  yet  larger  company  of  mature,  establish- 
<id  Christians,  who  still  bear  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 
We  may  yet  rejoice  in  their  hght  for  a  season,  and  there  will 
be  days  of  mourning  when  these  luminaries,  so  long  our 
guides  and  exemplars,  shall  one  after  another  be  exalted  to 
shed  their  rad'iance  upon  brighter,  holier  regions.  It  will, 
however,  readily  occur  to  the  thoughtful  hearer,  that  the  high 
qualities,  in  virtue  of  which  aged,  mature  Christians  fulfill 
for  the  Church  offices  so  conservative  and  salutary,  are  par- 
tially or  wholly  incompatible  with  the  performance  of  other 
functions  connected  no  less  intimately  with  the  spread  and 
efficacy  of  the  Gospel.  Conservatism,  which  spontaneously 
clings  to  the  past,  is  less  favorable  to  progress.  Zeal  for 
traditional*  or  hereditary  opinions  or  usages  is  often  indis- 
criminate, and  is  prone  to  resist  not  rash  innovations  and  per- 


204  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

iiicious  novelties  alone,  but  needful  improvements.  It  is  no 
slight  calamity  that  befalls  religion  and  human  society  when 
venerable  truths  and  ancient  institutions  are  guarded  with  a 
morbid  jealousy,  which  rejects  new  discoveries  and  salutai^ 
changes.  The  Church,  under  such  vuipropitious  civcum- 
stances,  is  in  danger  of  losing  its  power  and  vitality,  and  of 
wasting  its  energies  in  idle  contests  for  dogmas  and  forms, 
which,  however  true  or  scriptural,  are  no  longer  of  any  spe 
cial  significance  or  utihty,  now  that  their  life  and  spirit  have 
departed  from  them.  And  here  we  have  occasion  to  adore  the 
infinite  wisdom  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  in  em- 
ploying for  its  edification  such  a  variety  of  gifts  and  agencies. 
Under  His  wonderful  economy,  men  of  all  ranks  and  capac- 
ities co-operate  harmoniously  for  the  production  of  a  com- 
mon result,  each  fulfilling  his  own  sjoecial  and  appropriate 
function,  and,  at  the  same  time,  supplying  some  deficiency, 
or  checking  some  exaggerated  action  of  his  fellow-laborer. 
The  rich  and  the  poor  have  assigned  to  them  their  spheres, 
and  they  contribute  not  alike,  but  equally,  it  may  be,  to  the 
general  weal.  The  faith,  and  prayers,  and  spotless  example 
of  an  illiterate  or  obscure  man,  may  promote  as  successfully 
the  great  designs  of  Christianity  as  the  counsels  of  the  sage 
or  the  eloquence  of  the  learned.  Thus  it  is  that  "  the  whole 
body,  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which 
every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in 
the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

For  the  satisfaction  of  wants  and  liabilities  which  find  no 
adequate  provision  in  the  fixed  ideas  and  unyielding  habits 
of  veteran  piety,  the  Gospel  makes  its  appeal  to  the  special 
endowments  and  adaptations  of  the  young.  "  I  have  writ- 
ten unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and  the 
word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wick 
ed  one."  In  the  economy  of  Divine  Providence,  ^outh  is  en- 
dowed with  peculiar  attributes,  on  which  the  success  of  all 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  205 

great  moral  and  social  interests  and  enterprises  is  made  de- 
pendent. 

This  responsibility  for  the  well-being  of  the  race,  which 
accrues  to  the  young  in  virtue  of  their  providential  endow- 
ments, is  devolved  upon  them  by  an  inevitable  destiny. 
They  are  the  predestined  successors  of  all  who  now  wield 
moral  influence,  and  all  who  occupy  positions  of  authority 
and  power.  They  arc  moving  incessantly  onward  toward 
this  great  inheritance,  and  the  flight  of  years  makes  haste 
to  bring  them  into  contact  with  burdens  and  responsibilities 
which  they  can  not  elude  or  devolve  upon  others.  Those 
who  are  now  young  must  govern  mankind.  They  Qnust 
become  the  teachers  of  the  race.  They  must  become  the 
world's  law-givers,  and  its  dispensers  of  justice.  They  must 
manage  its  material  interests  —  must  plan  and  prosecute  its 
improvements  and  meliorations — must  conduct  its  wars  and 
negotiations  —  must  meet  the  unseen  exigencies  of  the  great 
future.  God  has-  provided  no  other  teachers  for  that  coming 
generation,  which,  in  its  turn,  is  destined  to  occupy  this  great 
field  of  action  and  probation,  and  to  transmit  to  a  still  later 
posterity  its  character — its  virtues,  and  vices,  and  achieve- 
ments. Were  we  able  to  divest  this  great  law  of  human  ex- 
istence of  its  inefficiency  as  a  hackneyed  truism,  and  clothe 
it  in  the  freshness  and  potency  of  a  newly-discovered  truth, 
we  should  need  no  other  argument  to  impress  upon  the  young 
the  duty  of  diligence  and  faithfulness  in  their  high  vocation ; 
for  the  young,  though  often  rash  and  reckless  of  the  future, 
are  neither  selfish  nor  malevolent.  They  would  not  trust 
themselves  upon  the  inheritance  in  reserve  for  them  without 
qualifications  to  preserve  and  improve  it.  They  would  not 
bring  back  upon  the  world  the  ignorance  of  the  Dark  Ages, 
nor  reproduce  upon  the  face  of  civilized  society  the  horrible 
scenes  of  the  Reign  of  Terror.  They  would  not  tarnish  the  lus- 
tre of  our  national  character  by  deeds  of  cowardice,  treachery, 
or  dishonor.     They  would  not  give  to  the  country  a  race  of 


206  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 


incompetent  or  profligate  statesmen.  They  would  recoil  from 
the  thought  of  occupying  the  pulpits  of  this  Christian  land, 
the  strongholds  of  its  morality  and  stern  virtues,  M-ithout  the 
requisite  qualifications  of  intelligence  and  piety.  They  would 
not  dwarf  and  taint  the  public  mind  with  a  feeble,  polluted 
literature,  nor  degrade  the  schools  and  liberal  professions  to 
which  this  great  republic  looks  for  the  men  of  the  future — 
its  orators,  its  teachers,  the  guides  of  its  youth,  and  the  lead- 
ers of  its  senates.  And  yet  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that 
*hese  great  interests,  one  and  all,  look  to  the  present  genera- 
tion of  young  men  as  their  sole  hope  and  resource.  Nothing 
is  less  a  matter  of  doubt  than  that  these  potent  agencies,  on 
which  the  well-being  of  a  great  nation  depends,  must  speed- 
ily come  under  the  direction  of  the  young  men  who  are  now 
forming  their  character,  moral  and  intellectual,  in  our  schools 
and  colleges — many  of  them  wholly  unconcerned  about  that 
future  in  which  they  have  so  deep  a  stake,  and  for  which  they 
will  be  held  to  a  responsibility  so  fearful. 

We  should  place  before  the  youth  of  this  land  only  a  very 
humble  standard  of  duty  and  ambition  in  urging  them  to 
such  attainments  as  will  merely  enable  them  to  maintain 
these  institutions,  and  social  and  moral  enterprises,  in  their 
present  state  of  efficiency  and  usefulness.  To  do  less  than 
this  would  plainly  be  nothing  less  than  treason  against  our 
country  and  common  humanity.  It  cost  our  fathers  infinite 
toil,  and  sacrifices,  and  precious  blood,  to  raise  this  country 
to  its  present  position,  and  to  form  such  a  heritage  of  light, 
and  liberty,  and  glory  as  they  are  ready  to  bequeath  to  their 
sons ;  and  that  young  man  must  be  dead  to  all  high  aspira- 
tions who  does  not  burn  with  shame  at  the  thought  of  trans- 
mitting it  to  posterity  enfeebled  or  dilapidated.  One  or  two 
such  recreant  generations  would  plunge  this  free  and  glori- 
ous land  into  the  darkness  and  wretchedness  of  its  primitive 
barbarism,  and  make  themselves  the  reproach  of  noble  an- 
3estors,  and  the  scorn  and  by- word  af  history. 


ELEVATED     CH  All  A  OXER.  207 

But  the  rising  generation  can  not  even  escape  this  foul 
dishonor  of  wasting  its  inheritance,  and  betraying  the  sacred 
interests  intrusted  to  it  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  without 
high  attainments  in  knowledge  and  virtue.  Our  forefathers 
were  a  brave,  intellectual,  noble  race  ;  and  they  who  now 
sway  the  destinies  of  this  country  are  educated,  vigorous, 
laborious,  enterprising  men.  The  land  is  no  doubt  cursed 
with  hordes  of  demagogues  and  pretenders,  and  its  honors 
are  too  often  bcstoM'cd  upon  the  unworthy  and  incompetent. 
Still,  the  great  body  of  our  legislators,  public  officers,  and 
professional  men,  are  not  deficient  either  in  literary  attain- 
ments or  intellectual  vigor.  There  is  a  Vulcanic  energy  at 
work  in  our  enterprises  of  science,  and  fabrication,  and  in- 
ternal improvement.  A  mighty  intellectual  machinery  is 
concerned  in  bringing  forth  the  products  of  our  vast  litera- 
ture, periodical  and  permanent.  Many  thousands  of  fine 
minds,  and  well  cultivated,  are  laboring  incessantly  and  in- 
tensely in  our  pulpits  and  schools  of  learning,  to  promote  the 
moral  and  mental  illumination  of  the  people  of  thi^  great 
country.  We  must  not  undervalue  the  past,  nor  complain  un- 
justly of  the  deficiencies  of  the  present  time.  Our  country 
has  been  made  what  it  is,  and  is  kept  up  to  its  actual  high 
moral  and  social  position,  by  the  strenuous  exertions  of  im- 
mense capacities  and  honorable  virtues.  It  will  be  no  easy 
task  for  our  young  men  to  outstrip  their  predecessors.  It 
will  even  be  well  for  them  if  they  shall  be  prepared  to  act 
the  part  which  awaits  them  without  provoking  unfavorable 
comparisons — if  they  shall  acquit  themselves  as  well  in.  the 
sight  of  their  country,  of  history,  and  of  God. 

Something  more  than  this,  however,  will  justly  be  expect- 
ed of  them.  It  is  the  gloiy  of  the  men  of  the  present  genera- 
tion that  they  have  improved  upon  all  past  ages,  and  greatly 
enriched  and  beautified  the  inheritance  which  their  fathers 
bequeathed  them.  It  will  be  the  undying  reproach  of  their 
successors  if  this  full  ti€e  of  improvement  shall  be  stayed 


208  EARLY    PIETY     THE-  BASIS    OF 

upon  their  accession  to  the  high  places  of  power  and  respon- 
sibility. They  will  enter  upon  their  career  M'ith  peculiar 
advantages.  The  accumulations  of  past  ages  will  be  their 
resources  for  new  enterprises.  The  light  of  rich  and  varied 
experiments  shines  full  upon  their  pathway,  and  the  wonder- 
ful discoveries  of  the  last  half  century  constitute  the  vantage- 
ground  from  which  they  are  allowed  to  commence  their  new 
career.  If,  with  facilities  so  many  and  so  great,  unknown  to 
their  predecessors,  they  shall  do  no  more  than  maintain  the 
actual  status  of  the  intelligence,  and  happiness,  and  virtue 
of  the  community,  they  are  destined  to  act  but  an  inglorious 
part.  They  ought  to  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  society 
s^ch  measures  of  new  light,  and  vivacity,  and  momentum  as 
will  quicken  and  multiply  the  energies  of  every  meliorating 
enterprise.  This  is  their  proper  function  and  vocation,  for 
which  they  should  diligently  equip  themselves,  as  champions 
whose  eyes  are  already  fixed  upon  the  arena  of  the  coming 
conflict. 

The  actual  state  of  education,  morals,  and  happiness  in  a 
community  may  be  regarded  as  the  true  expression  of  the 
uower  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  forces  engaged  for  its  im- 
provement. The  efficiency  and  usefulness  of  a  Church,  for 
instance,  are  precisely  what  the  zeal,  purity,  and  intelligence 
of  its  members  make  it.  We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that 
the  Christian  enterprises  of  the  present  time  must  remain 
stationary,  without  some  new  accession  of  moral  resources. 
If  the  rising  generation  shall  come  forward  with  only  the 
same  degrees  of  piety  and  antelligence  that  belong  to  their 
fathers,  then  the  utmost  that  can  be  expected  is,  that  the 
cause  of  religion  and  humanity  shall  not  retrograde.  Prog- 
ress, under  the  circumstances  supposed,  is  w^iolly  out  of  the 
question.  The  Church  is  now  barely  able  to  hold  its  ground 
against  the  opposing  forces  of  sin  and  error,  or  to  advance 
with  a  tardy  step  to  future  triumphs  ;  and  if  it  is  to  be  re- 
cruited and  re-enforced  by  such  m«nbcrs  and  ministers  only 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER,  209 


as  already  wield  its  destinies,  it  must  remain  in  essentially 
the  same  condition,  while  the  accession  of  even  a  few  persons 
of  deeper  piety,  and  stronger  faith,  and  larger  views,  might 
sweep  away  the  obstacles  that  retard  its  progress,  and  open 
a  career  of  unexampled  successes  A  single  individual  of 
enlarged  conceptions  of  duty,  and  burning  zeal  for  Christ,  is 
sometimes  able  to  communicate  new  spirit  to  a  whole  Church, 
which  has,  for  years,  scarcely  given  a  sign  of  vitality.  It 
had  just  enough  of  moral  power  to  maintain  a  bare  existence, 
and  resist  the  pressure  from  without ;  and  now  the  addition- 
»  al  impetus  given  by  one  true  man  of  God  puts  every  thing 
in  motion,  and  triumphs  over  obstacles.  "What  victories,  then, 
might  we  not  anticipate,  what  enlargement  for  Zion,  couljj 
the  whole  host  of  our  young  men  be  induced  to  gird  them 
selves  with  strength,  and  enter  upon  the  whitening  field  to 
which  they  are  called  with  something  lika  the  spirit  of  prim- 
itive Christianity  ?  It  would  be  as  a  new  life  from  the  dead. 
It  would  be  as  the  birth  of  a  new  dispensation.  They  who 
are  ready  to  perish  would  revive  again,  and  all  the  islands 
of  the  sea  would  rejoice. 

Manifestly  it  is  such  a  revival  of  heavenly  charity,  and 
wisdom,  and  apostolic  zeal,  that  is  imperatively  demanded 
by  the  present  condition  of  our  social  and  Christian  enter 
prises.  The  passing  era  will  ever  be  recognized  in  history  as 
an  age  of  noble  conceptions  and  of  great  moral  convictions. 
It  has  planned,  and  begun  to  execute,  God-like  enterprises, 
but  it  evidently  lacks  the  sinews  needful  for  their  success- 
ful frccomplishment.  It  reels  imder  the  burdens  it  has  as- 
sumed. The  existing  race  of  Christians  has  propagated  sub- 
lime ideas,  which  it  is  appointed  for  their  successors  to  real- 
ize in  sublime  achievements.  This  is  in  accordance  with  a 
great  law.  An  age  of  discovery  leads  in  an  age  of  perform- 
ance. First  comes  the  science,  and  then  its  applications  to 
life.  The  Church  is  well  furnished  with  grand  ideas.  It 
has  on  its  hands  comprehensive  evangelizing  schemes,  whose 


210  EARLY     PIETY    THE     BASIS     OF 

successful  accomplisliment  will  usher  iu  the  mlUeunium. 
What  she  now  wants  is  agents  to  execute  thenff  She  wants 
an  army  of  young  men,  large-minded  and  large-hearted,  and 
deeply  baptized  into  the  Savior's  spirit.  This  is  the  great 
want,  to  which  all  others  are  subordinate.  Let  it  be  supplied, 
and  all  other  obstacles  will  vanish  away.  The  cause  of 
Christ  and  humanity  calls  for  men — needs  men — cultivated, 
sanctified,  self-sacrificing,  brave  men,  and  it  really  wants 
nothing  else  to  the  completeness  of  its  triumphs.  Material 
resources,  with  which  the  Church  overflows,  only  wait  for 
the  bidding  of  lips  touched  with  holy  fire  to  call  them  forth 
for  the  sacrifice.  And  now  what  Christian  young  man  will 
^idure  the  thought,  that  all  these  goodly  enterprises  for  the 
improvement  and  salvation  of  the  race  shall  fail  or  languish 
for  want  of  worthy  champions  ? 

The  Church  has  just  now  started  forth  from  the  ignomin- 
ious repose  of  centuries,  and  trembles  to  recognize  itself  as 
charged  by  Christ  with  the  evangelization  of  the  world. 
Shall  this  work,  so  nobly  begun,  fail  or  languish  for  want  of 
laborers  ?  Is  it  tolerable  to  think  of,  that  the  triumph  of 
Christ  shall  be  postponed,  and  the  deadly  curse  of  sin  con- 
tinue to  blight  the  hopes  of  three  fourths  of  the  human  race, 
because  we  love  our  ease  and  our  money,  and  because  our 
young  men  have  shallow  piety  and  huge  ambition  ?  We 
have  discovered  that  the  general  difiusion  of  a  more  thorough 
aird  eflective  education  is  absolutely  indispensable  for  a  self- 
governing  people,  and  that  whatever  else  our  republic  has 
or  lacks,  the  preservation  of  freedom  and  happiness  without 
this  great  reform  is  an  impossibility.  The  work  is  already 
begun,  and  the  means  for  its  extension  and  completion  are  at 
least  partially  provided.  Will  our  young  men  accept  of  this 
holy  trust  at  the  hands  of  their  fathers  ?  Are  they  ready  to 
ofTor  themselves  for  a  service  equally  commended  to  tlieir  fa- 
vor by  religion  and  by  patriotism  ?  Good  men,  who  are  yet 
alive,  were  the  first  to  know  and  proclaim  that  the  exhilar- 


ELEVATED    C  II  A  II  AC  T  E  R.  211 


ating  boM'l,  which  fashion  had  long  made  indispensable  in 
the  high  plac^  of  society,  and  appetite  had  made  the  tyrant 
and  the  scovirge  of  common  life — which  was  fondly  kissed  by 
ruby  lips,  and  inspired  the  eloquence  of  grave  ecclesiastics, 
is  an  accursed,  poisoned  chalice,  which  has  drugged  our  peo- 
ple with  disease,  and  vice,  and  damning  guilt.  This  fearful 
truth  had  nearly  succeeded  in  penetrating  the  heart  of  our 
population,  and  making  its  lodgment  in  the  public  conscience, 
when,  through  the  weariness  of  some  of  its  advocates,  and 
the  indiscretions  of  others,  the  apathy  of  the  Church,  and  the 
sleepless  eflorts  of  interested  dealers,  their  deluded  victims, 
and  demagogue  abettors,  a  paralyzing  reaction  has  befallen 
the  great  enterprise,  and  the  polluting  cup  is  again  brought 
forth  from  its  hiding-place — again  sparkles  at  the  feast,  and 
maddens  the  joyous  circle  of  our  youth.  Are  our  educated 
young  men  prepared  to  preach  up  another  crusade,  and  < 
march  in  the  van  of  another  holy  war  against  this  worse 
than  the  false  prophet  ?  Our  own  favored  land,  and  the  en- 
tire Christian  world,  unquestionably  labor  under  great  and 
grievous  social  evils.  Our  intense  and  highly  artificial  civ- 
ilization does,  in  some  of  its  modes  and  operations,  press  with 
dreadful  and  almost  exterminating  severity  upon  the  happi- 
ness, the  hopes,  and  the  virtues  of  large  classes  of  the  people. 
Ignorant  quacks,  and  interested  pretenders  and  demagogues, 
are  every  where  prescribing  absurd  and  pernicious  remedies 
for  this  inveterate  disease.  Religion  and  education  possess 
the  true  panacea,  and  they  would  enlist  an  army  of  valiant, 
wdse^hilanthropists  in  an  enterprise  which  must  fail  in  or- 
dinary hands.  Are  our  young  men  ready  for  this  good  work 
also  ?  Will  this  call  to  holy  duties  be  able  to  make  itself 
heard  amid  the  incitements  to  selfishness  and  ambition  which 
throng  the  avenues  to  professional  arid  public  life. 

For  the  satisfaction  of  these,  and  other  moral  and  social 
wants,  which  press  so  heavily  upon  our  country  and  the  hu- 
man race,  mtelligent,  pious  young  men  are  at  this  moment 


212  EARLY     PIETY     THE    BASIS    OF 

tlie  only  adequate  resource.  Others,  Avho  have  a  heart  foi 
such  work,  are  already  occupied,  and  their  energies  are  al- 
ready fully  tasked  in  maintaining  these  great  moral  enter- 
prises in  their  actual  state  of  advancement.  They  look  to 
the  young  for  the  succor  without  which  reaction  and  igno- 
minious retrogression  will  be  unavoidable.  They  boldly  con- 
front the  foe  and  keep  him  at  bay,  while,  with  every  muscle 
strained,  they  beckon  to  their  sons  to  "  come  and  help  them." 
Young  men  alone  can  be  fully  adapted  to  the  special  exi- 
gencies of  their  own  times.  Those  who  have  been  long  en- 
gaged in  any  department  of  action  acquire  habits  favorable 
to  success  in  their  particular  pursuit,  which  often  become  dis- 
qualifications under  a  change  of  circumstances  or  for  new 
enterprises.  The  middle-aged  pastor  will  generally  be  found 
essentially  unfit  for  the  new  duties  and  ideas  of  missionary 
♦  life.  He  can  not  learn  strange  languages,  and  mure  himself 
to  new  climates  and  modes  of  life.  The  young  man,  on  the 
contrary,  has  nothing  to  unlearn.  He  is  pliable  and  plastic, 
ready  to  be  molded  into  any  form  of  physical  and  mental  ac- 
tivity which  the  exigencies  of  the  times  may  demand.  When 
the  French  E-evolution  had  brought  on  a  crisis  in  human  af- 
fairs unknown  in  the  world's  previous  history,  old  statesmen 
and  old  geirerals  were  found  universally  luifit  for  the  new  ex 
igency,  and  supreme  power,  civil  and  military,  passed,  as  if 
in  obedience  to  some  hidden  law,  to  the  vigorous  hands  of 
Napoleon,  and  Pitt,  and  Talleyrand,  and  Wellington,  all 
young  men,  who  took  their  character  from  the  crisis,  and  in 
their  turn  impressed  it  upon  the  times.  Several  of  our^reat 
benevolent  enterprises,  which  are  rapidly  extending  their  in- 
fluences to  the  remotest  nations  of  the  earth,  were  projected 
by  young  men,  while  they  were  still  mulcr-graduates  ;  and 
Mills,  and  Judson,  and  Newell  passed  immediately  from  the 
schools  into  the  distant  lands  where  they  laid  the  foundations 
of  Christian  empires.  Young  men  have  usually  been  Heav- 
en's chosen  depositaries  of  new  and  great  ideas,  and  its  cho 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  213 


sen  instruments  for  efi'ecting  beneficent  revolutions.  They 
soonest  hear,  and  most  deeply  feel,  the  appeals  of  sufiering 
humanity,  and  their  character  most  readily  conforms  itself 
to  the  hue  and  pressure  of  their  era. 

For  prudent  counsels  and  the  conduct  of  grave  negotia- 
tions, for  the  conservation  of  holy  truths  and  time-honored 
institutions,  for  the  safe  management  of  the  great  trusts  and 
established  interests  of  human  society,  w^e  are  to  look  to  the 
serene,  unimpassioned  wisdom  of  more  advanced  life  ;  but 
new  and  difficult  enterprises,  and  daring  moral  adventures 
that  are  without  precedent  in'the  memory  of  the  aged,  must, 
for  the  most  part,  expect  to  enlist  their  champions  from  the 
ranks  of  buoyant,  unhaclmeyed  youth.  This  is  eminently 
the  period  of  mental  and  bodily  vigor  and  power.  The  warm 
blood  courses  bravely  through  the  veins,  and  every  limb  and 
muscle  rejoices  in  action.  The  bosom  swells  with  high  hopes, 
which  disappointment  has  not  yet  chilled  with  its  paralyzing 
touch.  The  young  are  wont  to  place  confidence  in  man,  in 
human  improvement,  in  truth,  and  in  the  power  of  endeav- 
or. Experience  has  not  yet  made  them  timid,  nor  broken 
the  spirit  of  adventure.  The  future  rises  up  before  them 
gorgeous  with  rich  promise,  and  opulent  in  hidden  resources. 
Religion  chastens,  but  it  does  not  dim  these  vivid  conceptions 
and  lofty  aspirations  of  the  young.  Very  often,  indeed,  the 
discoveries  of  faith  far  outstrip  and  outshine  the  visions  of 
fancy  ;  and  what  was  sheer  extravagance  in  the  expectations 
of  the  natural  man,  becomes  an  object  of  sober  and  reasona- 
ble pursuit  with  him  who  has  received  an  endowment  of 
strength  from  on  high.  It  is  a  great  point  gained  when  we 
can  get  young  men,  constitutionally  prorfe  to  adventure  and 
activity,  who  love  labor,  and  fear  nothing — whose  bounding 
lieails  impel  them  onward,  as  if  conscious  that  to  will  and  to 
achieve  were  tasks  equally  practicable— rit  is  a  great  thing  to 
get  all  these  elements  of  efficiency  fairly  embarked  in  some 
holy  euterpnse,  in  which  the  smallest  degrees  of  success  might 


214  EARLY    riKTY    THE    BASIS    OF 

satisfy  the  most  ardent  ambition,  and  the  grandeur  and  cer- 
tainty of  whose  triumphs  can  sustain  the  spirit  of  man  under 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  hope  deferred.  Here  is  found  precisely 
that  conjunction  of  circumstances  which  is  most  favorable  to 
the  highest  development  of  the  best  qualities  of  the  heart 
nnd  the  intellect.  The  inspiration  of  an  object  divinely  sub- 
lime, and  yet  in  closest  contact  Avith  all  the  benevolent  feel' 
ings  ;  the  prospect  of  a  glorious  reward,  acting  without  preju- 
dice to  conscious,  disinterested  philanthropy — infallible  guar- 
antees of  ultimate,  complete  success — ofier  a  combination  of 
motives  that  can  not  fail  to  exalt  the  human  powers  to  their 
utmost  capacity,  and  even  to  make  ordinary  men  great. 

In  addition  to  the  inspiration  of  ennobling  pursuits  acting 
upon  the  plastic  nature  and  fervent  temperament  of  fresh 
and  buoyant  life,  Christianity  furnishes  to  yomig  men  other 
and  peculiar  elements  of  strength.  "  The  toord  of  God  abid- 
cllh  in  them,^^  and  they  are  thus  supphed,  from  the  beginning 
of  their  career,  with  rules  of  action  and  maxims  of  life  per- 
fectly adapted  to  all  their  circumstf^nces  and  wants.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  prove  that  the  Bible,  which  is  the  expres- 
sion of  Divine  wisdom,  announces  to  man  the  true  method 
of  life.  It  contains  the  mind  of  God,  and  makes  known  to 
us  the  decisions  of  the  highest  intelligence.  In  all  matters 
of  high  moral  import,  it  reveals  to  us,  in  anticipation  of  experi- 
ence, those  great  practical  lessons  which  can  not  be  learned 
elsewhere,  if  at  all,  but  by  years  of  careful  observation  and 
laborious  experiment.  Wisdom  acquired  by  methods  so  tedi- 
ous and  expensive,  usually  comes  too  late  for  any  valuable 
purpose,  after  life  has  been  exhausted  in  fruitless,  misdirect- 
ed endeavors,  audits  energies  have  been  impaired,  and  the 
heart  saddened  by  discouragement  and  discomfiture.  Life 
commenced  and  prosecuted  under  the  infallible  guidance  of 
the  Divine  oracles,  espapes  all  such  retarding  influences.  Its 
movements  begi7i  in  the  right  direction.  Its  energies  are 
saved  from  the  wear  and  the  wasle  of  unsuccessful  essays 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  215 

and  of  an  endless  empiricism.  The  character  early  acquires 
compactness  and  solidity,  and  that  momentum  which  is  de- 
rived from  fixedness  of  purpose  and  singleness  of  heart. 

There  is  great  advantage,  also,  m  the  Divine  authority  of 
the  rules  which  religion  prescribes  for  the  conduct  of  life. 
Its  announcements  are  so  many  of  the  decrees  of  Jehovah, 
of  which  it  is  not  in  human  folly  to  question  the  wisdom, 
and  to  which  nothing  short  of  absolute  madness  could  hope 
to  offer  successful  resistance.  Obedience,  therefore,  becomes 
the  highest  dictate  of  reason  as  well  as  of  conscience.  AU 
the  interests  of  time  and  eternity  are  inyolved  in  a  frank, 
earnest  concurrence  with  these  expressions  of  the  Divine  will. 
After  God  has  spoken,  there  are  no  doubtful  questions  to  set- 
tle—  no  wavering  probabilities  for  scrutiny  and  adjustment. 
It  only  remains  for  those  who  have  heard  His  voice  to  gird  up 
their  loins  and  hasten  to  the  accomplishment  of  an  appointed 
task.  It  must  be  obvious  to  the  slightest  reflection  how  much 
the  business  of  life  is  simplified  by  this  authoritative  settle- 
ment of  doubtful  questions,  and  the  subordination  of  all  its 
pursuits  to  one  controlling  principle.  They  who  choose  to 
follow  other  guides,  necessarily  lose  this  powerful  element  of 
efficiency.  They  must  often  hesitate  in  the  choice  of  their 
rules  of  action — they  must  often  falter  in  the  pursuits  to 
which  they  finally  devote  themselves,  and  often  fail  in  the 
attainment  of  their  objects,  through  the  insufficiency  of  world- 
ly motives  to  sustain  untiring  activity.  They  hang  in  equi- 
poise, while  others,  obedient  to  the  Divine  law-giver,  advance 
in  the  race.  They  stop  to  reconsider  where  the  demand  is 
strongest  for  accelerated  motion.  They  find  the  incentives 
to  which  they  have  yielded  up  the  direclfcn  of  life  too  feeble 
to  sustain  them.  They  doubt,  under  the  pressure  of  toil  and 
weariness,  whether  they  have  not  consulted  ambition  and 
avarice  at  the  sacrifice  of  higher  interests — whether  they 
may  not  have  thought  too  little  of  the  claims  of  repose,  or 
too  highly  of  reputation.     They  discover  too  late  some  lack 


216  EARLY    PIETY     THE    BASIS    OF 

of  congeniality  for  the  scenes  or  society  upon  which  they  have 
been  precipitated  by  levity,  or  pride,  or  indolence.  Above 
all,  will  tne  thought  that  God  is  not  in  all  their  schemes,  and 
that  they  tend  to  an  issue  upon  which  Heaven's  blessing  has 
never  been  asked  nor  promised,  often  obtrude  itself,  to  relax 
the  sinews  of  effort,  and  even  to  sadden  the  triumphs  of  suc- 
cess. Such  misgivings  are  most  likely  to  come  upon  the  mind 
in  its  days  of  doubt  and  despondency,  when  the  hand  is  trem- 
ulous and  the  heart  faint.  Just  then  it  is  that  the  Chris- 
tian most  feels  the  support  of  hi§  principles.  "  The  word  of 
God  abideth  in  him,"  and  he  travels  on  "from  strength  to 
strength."  It  is  his  infallible  counselor  in  a  time  of  perplex- 
ity. It  assures  him  of  deliverance  from  all  dangers  and  all 
disasters.  It  sustains  him  most  completely  when  all  other 
supports  confess  their  insufficiency.  Its  light  is  most  intense 
in  the  darkest  day,  and  it  raises  the  loudest  notes  of  victory 
when  its  devoted  champions  are  borne  on  their  shields  from 
the  mortal  conflict. 

The  Christian  young  man  gains  another  element  of  effi 
ciency  in  the  permanence  of  the  influences  under  which  his 
character  is  formed — "the  word  of  God  abideth  in  him." 
From  youth  to  old  age,  through  all  of  life's  changes,  he  walks 
by  the  same  unerring  light.  His  eye  is  fixed  upon  one  ob- 
ject. His  pursuits  obey  one  great  law,  and  all  tend  to  a  com- 
mon grand  result.  Life's  entire  energies  are  concentrated 
upon  a  point  which  becomes  henceforth  the  goal  of  all  his 
efibrts  and  aspirations.  Lower  worldly  maxims  lose  their 
force  and  application  with  the  progress  and  mutations  of 
time.  The  appetite  becomes  sated  with  enjoyment  or  par- 
alyzed by  age.  Di|appointment,  or  the  sober  second  thought 
of  experience,  dissipates  the  illusions  of  ambition.  Hardly 
any  worldly  motive  but  avarice,  confessedly  the  lowest  and 
the  worst,  is  accustomed  to  maintain  its  sway  to  the  close 
of  life.  Failure,  or  change  in  the  ruling  principle,  necessa- 
rily destroys  unity  and  continuity  of  action  ;  and  enterprises 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  217 

begun  in  the  thoughtlessness  of  youth,  are  abandoned  as 
hopeless  or  unworthy  by  sober  manhood.  The  tastes  fluctu- 
ate. Imagination  refuses  any  longer  to  gild  the  phantom 
with  which  it  at  first  seduced  the  unwary.  With  these 
changes  come  changes  of  purpose,  and  even  middle  life  finds 
itself  unsettled  and  wavering,  shorn  of  its  strength  in  its  very 
prime  and  unwasted  vigor ;  while  the  latter  days  of  an  irre- 
hgious  life  are  almost  invariably  tasteless,  unsatisfactory,  and 
to  all  the  higher  ends  of  existence  absolutely  useless.  Such 
a  hfe  has,  and  can  have,  no  pervading  unity.  Its  efforts  are 
unsteady  and  fitful,  as  they  needs  must  be  from  the  variable 
and  conflicting  impulses  of  which  they  are  the  result.  How 
diflbrent  the  history  of  him  who  has  chosen  God  for  his  por- 
tion in  early  life,  and  made  the  Divine  will  his  one  rule  of 
action  !  "  The  word  of  God,  which  abideth  in  liim,"  is  "  quick 
and  power^l,"  and  ministers  an  unfailing  supply  of  living, 
powerful  resources.  It  has  a  rule  of  action  and  a  ministra- 
tion of  strong  impulses  for  each  period  and  exigency  of  our 
earthly  existence.  Buoyant  youth  and  sober  manhood  it 
links  together  in  an  indissoluble  unity  of  interest,  and  hope, 
and  eflbrt ;  and  it  quickens  the  slow  pulses  of  hoary  age  with 
prospects  more  radiant  and  exhilarating  than  ever  rose  before 
the  visions  of  childhood.  Now  it  is  chiefly  in  this  steady  and 
unfaltering  devotion  of  the  entire  life  to  a  single  object  that 
we  are  to  look  for  the  secret  of  all  eminent  success.  It  was 
to  this  continuity  and  intensity  of  efibrt  in  a  single  direction, 
rather  than  to  any  special  attributes  of  genius,  that  Davy, 
and  Cuvier,  and  others,  were  indebted  for  their  eminent 
achievements  in  science.  For  the  production  of  great  char- 
acters or  great  actions,  there  is  wanted  the  early  adoption  of 
some  worthy  object  of  pursuit — its  steady  prosecution  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  life — and  an  earnest,  fervent  tempera- 
ment, which  stirs  old  age  itself  with  living  impulses.  How 
completely  religion,  embraced  in  early  life,  satisfies  these  in- 
dispensable conditions,  Ave  have  already  seen. 

K 


215  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

The  presence  and  supremacy  of  DiAane  truth,  which  per- 
vades the  hfe  "ttdth  an  influence  so  benignant,  and  produces 
such  strength  of  character  and  efficiency  of  action,  perfornis 
for  the  young  another  function  very  noticeable  and  import- 
ant. It  oflers  itself  as  a  guide  and  counsellor  at  a  period  of 
life  when  there  exists  the  strongest  indisposition  to  listen  to 
human  advisers,  and  when  submission  to  human  authority 
is  often  deemed  incompatible  with  a  manly  independence. 
This  tendency  to  revolt  against  the  admonitions  of  age  and 
experience  is  among  the  most  iiTlaccountable  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  young  persons,  especially  of  those  who  are  early 
removed  from  parental  control.  Every  teacher  finds  in  it  a 
chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a  satisfactory  discharge  of  his 
duties,  and  it  often  proves  a  fatal  barrier  to  that  moral  and 
mental  culture  which  is  the  proper  business  of  education. 
Our  reference  here  is  not  to  that  reckless  folly  pe^liar  to  low 
and  vicious  dispositions,  which  makes  a  pastime  of  perpetra- 
ting petty  crimes  and  violating  good  order,  and  slides  into  vul- 
gar profligacy  through  the  spontaneous  tendencies  of  a  base 
and  intractable  nature  Youths  of  a  more  ingenuous  charac- 
ter, by  no  means  deficient  in  good  impulses  and  manly  aspira- 
tions, often  fall  into  the  delusion  of  regarding  obedience,  and 
all  manifestations  of  deference  for  age  and  authority,  as  some 
reflection  upon  their  dignity,  and  an  indication  of  a  tame  and 
timid  spirit.  They  place  their  jooint  of  honor  in  violatmg 
the  order  which  would  protect  their  retired  hours  from  in- 
trusion, and  in  contemning  the  solicitude  and  counsels  that 
would  encourage  and  guide  to  mental  improvement,  and  con- 
serve their  moral  sentiments  and  character.  They  avoid,  as 
a  reproach  and  a  stigma,  all  suspicion  of  recognizing  the  re- 
straints and  reverencing  the  ordinances  of  religion.  They  are 
ashamed  of  having  it  thought  that  they  bear  with  them  some 
respect  for  the  holy  influences  of  home  recollections  and  sym- 
pathies— some  tender  remembrance  of  mother  and  sisters — 
some  dutiful  reverence  for  the  authority  and  instructions  of  a 
father. 


ELEVATED     CHARACTER.  2l*J 

This  false  honor  and  false  shame  too  often  tyrannize  over 
conscience  and  the  heart — prove  too  strong  for  the  love  of 
knowledge  and  distinction  —  too  strong  for  the  restraiiits  of 
law  and  morality.  I  have  seen  fine  young  men,  endowed 
with  genius  and  high  aspirations,  in  whom  this  absurd,  un- 
natural controversy  with  their  own  real  sentiments,  as  well 
as  interests,  had  assumed  the  form  of  a  monomania,  directed 
against  every  influence  solicitous  to  promote  their  well-being 
and  restrain  them  from  recklessness.  More  distressing  cases 
never  occur  than  such  as  leave  no  power  for  good  but  in  a 
rigid  exercise  of  authority — a  remedy  little  adapted  to  cure, 
though  it  may  sometimes  restrain  the  folly  which  so  pertina- 
ciously revolts  against  influence,  and  thinks  it  dishonor  to 
listen  to  good  advice.  Religion  ofiers  the  only  remedy,  and, 
in  certain  temperaments,  the  early  inculcation  of  its  princi- 
ples constitutes  the  only  preventive  of  the  unmanageable  evil 
under  consideration.  The  fear  of  God,  once  established  in 
the  mind,  will  often  prove  an  effectual  antidote  to  the  bad 
independence  which  denies  respect  to  age  and  allegiance  to 
authority.  The  most  vaulting  ambition  may  not  deem  it  a 
degradation  to  do  homage  to  Jehovah.  The  perverted  sen- 
timent of  honor  which  spurns  the  advice  of  teacher  and  par- 
ent, may  yet  acknowledge  that  God's  counsels  are  worthy  of 
some  respect.  The  pride  that  can  not  stoop  to  confess  a  fault 
or  to  avow  purposes  of  amendment,  may  consent  to  bow  in 
submission  to  an  authority  which  is  confessedly  supreme,  and 
to  do  homage  to  a  power  too  high  to  provoke  envy  or  to  tol- 
erate disobedience. 

The  revival  of  early  religious  imjyressions  has  saved 
many  a  reckless  youth,  who  obstinately  refused  to  be  guided 
by  any  human  authority  or  influence.  The  dupes  of  bad  ex- 
ample and  perverted  sentiments  of  honor  sometimes  discover, 
with  surprise,  that  their  awakened  deference  for  Divine  au- 
thority has,  without  provoking  jealousy  or  wounding  their 
self-love,  brought  them  into  perfect  harmony  with  laws  and 


220  EARLY     riETY     THE     BASIS    OF 

restraints  against  which  it  had  been  their  pride  and  their 
business  to  wage  perpetual  war.  It  may  be  affirmed,  with- 
out qualification,  that  there  is  always  hope  for  a  young  man 
in  whom  the  great  truths  of  religion  have  made  an  early 
lodgment.  They  have  a  tenacity  of  life  beyond  what  Ave 
are  accustomed  to  think  of  "  The  word  of  God  abideth"  in 
the  instructed  son  of  Christian  parents,  and  makes  disclo- 
sure of  its  latent  energies  at  times  and  in  ways  whieh  we 
least  of  all  anticipate.  It  whispers  good  counsel,  and  utters 
notes  of  warning  in  hearts  apparently  dead  to  its  influences, 
and  itno  ears  contemptuously  closed  against  the  most  faithful 
admonitions.  How  often  have  oi;r  unbelieving  fears  in  re- 
gard to  thoughtless,  reckless  youth,  been  signally  rebuked  by 
their  sudden  and  unexpected  conversion  I  How  often  have 
we  seen  the  graces  of  a  backslidden  young  man  revived 
again  after  years  of  neglect  and  apparent  indifierence  to  Di- 
vine things  I  If  we  are  compelled  to  admit  that  some  cast 
oft'  the  restraints  of  early  education,  and  even  of  a  religious 
profession,  and  apparently  "make  shipwreck  of  their  faith," 
we  are  also  bound  to  acknowledge,  for  the  honor  of  Divine 
grace,  that  a  large  proportion  of  them  turn  again  to  righteous- 
ness. Some  good,  reviving  influence  from  heaven  visits  them. 
Some  array  of  afi^ecting  circumstances — some  hour  like  this, 
when  tender  remembrances  come  up  to  mingle  with  the  fears 
and  hopes  of  the  future — perhaps  the  thoughtfulness  which 
an  actual  entrance  upon  serious,  active  life  forces  upon  them, 
is  made  the  occasion  of  a  recurrence  to  holy  first  principles. 
The  slumbering  elements  of  eternal  truth  then  awaken  into 
new  life.  Repudiated  conscience  trembles  into  new  con- 
sciousness and  power.  The  tender  associations  of  childhood 
and  home — the  mother's  tear — the  family  altar — the  joyous, 
holy  experiences  of  Christian  fellowship  and  heavenly  hopes, 
rise  up  before  the  soul's  eye  with  the  energy  of  a  Divine  res- 
urrection. All  honor  to  the  powerful  word,  which  through 
so  many  dark  months  and  years  slept,  but  did  not  die,  iu 


ELEVATED    ClIARACTER.  221 

these  returning  souls.  "  The  word  of  God  abideth  in  them," 
und  is  likely,  some  day,  to  make  its  power  known.  So  strong 
is  the  3vidence  of  past  experience  on  this  point,  that  I  always 
exiKct  young  men,  who  have  been  piously  trained,  to  be  con- 
verted. I  expect  to  hear,  if  I  do  not  personally  witness  it, 
that  they  who  for  a  time  yielded  to  worldly  influences  and 
strong  temptations,  to  the  dishonor  of  their  Christian  profes- 
sion, have  returned  again  to  Zion  with  songs ;  and  my  reli- 
ance for  all  this  is  in  the  vitality  and  Divine  potency  of  "  the 
word  of  God."  They  may  reject  it  altogether,  but  I  rather 
expect  impressions  so  early,  so  deep,  and  so  divine,  to  remain 
permanent  and  effectual  for  saving  ends. 

Christian  young  men  have  won,  through  the  Gospel,  anoth- 
er victory.  They  have  "  overcome  the  wicked  one."  He 
secures  a  mighty  advantage  for  life's  entire  career,  who,  at 
the  outset,  solves  the  great  problem  of  his  existence.  The 
conflict  between  good  and  evil,  in  which  the  greater  number 
of  men  pass  all  their  days  on  earth,  has  formed  a  fruitful 
theme  for  moralists  and  theologians.  Pagan  and  Christian, 
ever  since  the  phenomena  of  man's  intellectual  and  moral 
nature  became  objects  of  research  and  observation.  Some  of 
the  earlier  Christian  sects,  as  well  as  some  schools  of  hea- 
then philosophy,  believed  in  the  existence  of  two  great  princi- 
ples, a  good  and  an  evil  principle,  engaged  in  a  perpetual 
conflict  for  dominion  over  the  universe  and  in  the  heart  of 
man.  Human  life  was  exhausted  in  this  terrible  struggle, 
and  its  happiness  or  misery  was  very  exactly  proportioned  to 
the  relative  ascendency  of  these  warring  elements.  The  un- 
decided strife  was  thought  to  be  often  transferred  to  a  future 
state  of  being,  when  other  ages  of  undefined  duration  were 
spent  by  the  soul  in  struggling  onward  to  its  ultimate  des- 
tiny. This  theory  expresses  very  accurately  the  usual  his- 
tory of  man's  interior  life.  It  does  not  exaggerate  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  protracted  contest  here,  and  only  errs  when  it  con- 
cedes to  the  hapless  victim  of  an  unequal  fate  another  trial 


222  EARLY     riETY     THE    BASIS    OF 

beyond  the  boundaries  of  Ibe  present  bfe.  The  Gospel  adopts 
this  idea  of  human  life  in  a  modified  form.  The  sore  conflict 
is  carried  on,  not  between  two  demons,  but  between  God's 
holy  law  and  the  sinful  dispositions  of  man.  It  may  be  pro- 
longed to  the  hour  of  death,  but  no  "  device  or  work"  is  done 
in  the  region  beyond.  It  may  be  brought  to  a  successful  ter- 
mination in  early  life,  and  even  "  young  men"  have  often 
*'  overcome  the  wicked  one."  The  true  Christian  idea  of 
this  inner  conflict  is  expressed  by  St.  Paul :  "  The  flesh  lust- 
eth  against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh."  Ear- 
ly piety  puts  an  end  to  this  doubtful  strife,  and  leaves  the 
young  man  free  to  enter,  with  an  xuidivided  heart,  and  un- 
tainted principles,  upon  the  high  moral  vocation  to  which  his 
whole  existence  is  consecrated,  with  no  evil  habits  to  unlearn 
— no  counteracting  forces  to  resist — no  internal  insurrections 
to  suppress  beyond  the  infirmities  of  a  fallen,  but  renovated 
nature.  A  career  of  virtue  and  usefulness,  commenced  un-. 
der  such  auspices,  has  the  fairest  promise  of  certain,  emi-. 
nent,  complete  success.  "Whoever  begins  life  without  a  set- 
tlement of  this  great  preliminary  question,  with  an  unsub- 
dued enemy  ambushing  his  every  step,  has  but  two  possible 
alternatives  before  him.  He  must  either  yield  himself  unre- 
sistingly to  the  foe,  and  consent  to  the  forfeiture  of  his  life's 
great  ends,  or,  what  is  more  usual,  spend  his  resources  in  an 
endless,  bootless  conflict,  under  conditions  that  render  victory 
impossible,  and  deprive  partial  success  of  all  its  value.  He 
writhes  in  a  consuming  fire,  which,  though  sometimes  smoth- 
ered, is  never  extinguished.  He  never  "  overcomes  the  wick- 
ed one,"  nor  ever  attempts  so  much,  but  only  to  keep  him  at 
bay.  He  is,  consequently,  forever  in  the  midst  of  the  conflict 
of  appetite  and  passion,  but  never  clears  his  path  of  enemies 
farther  onward  than  he  can  reach  with  the  point  of  his 
sword.  His  life  is  spent  in  alternately  rolling  up  the  stone 
of  Sisyphus,  and  starting  back  from  its  inevitable  recoil.  As 
a.Q  does  not  aim  at  being  a  thoroughly  good  man,  real  im- 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  223 

provemcnt  is  impossible,  and  partial  reforms  only  serve  to 
mark  his  varying  gradations  in  vice.  Meantime,  his  moral 
diathesis  becomes  more  and  more  deplorable,  by  the  lowering 
of  his  principles,  by  the  growing  obtuseness  of  his  moral  sen- 
timents, and  by  the  imperceptible  formation  of  habits  that 
strengthen  the  tendency  to  evil  by  something  like  the  sanc- 
tion of  an  organic  law.  The  sort  of  moral  progress  which 
we  are  attempting  to  portray  is  illustrated  by  familiar  phe- 
nomena of  a  student's  life. 

The  ingenuous  youth,  who  holds  himself  obliged  in  con- 
science, and  in  all  manliness,  to  make  the  best  use  of  his  op- 
portunities for  improvement,  soon  finds  the  performance  of 
his  duties  easy  and  agreeable.  Every  day's  industry  and 
perseverance  add  to  the  facility  and  comfort  of  his  progress, 
and  he  speedily  attains  to  such  feelings  and  habits  that  it 
would  cost  him  a  struggle  to  omit  a  duty.  An  hour  spent 
in  sleep,  which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  improvement,  wounds 
his  self-respect,  and  really  becomes  a  source  of  more  annoy- 
ance than  all  the  mental  efforts  of  a  month's  toil  in  the  study 
and  the  recitation-room.  Such  a  student,  it  is  obvious,  must 
soon  find  himself  within  the  range  and  action  of  impulses  that 
insure  the  highest  mental  improvement,  while  they  quite  dis- 
arm all  petty  temptations  to  indolence  and  irregularity.  An- 
other enters  upon  the  scholastic  career  with  lower,  though 
not  with  dishonorable  aims.  He  satisfies  his  sense  of  obli- 
gation and  self-respect  by  such  a  performance  of  scholastic 
tasks,  and  such  attention  to  order,  as  may  leave  a  conven- 
ient margin  for  self-indulgence,  and  yet  not  be  quite  incom- 
patible with  proficiency  and  respectability.  This  theory  of 
the  student-life  seldom  fails  to  produce  in  practice  an  abun- 
dant growth  of  evils,  and  to  lead  to  the  ultimate  forfeiture 
of  the  chief  benefits  of  education.  As  some  duties  are  to  be 
neglected,  each,  in  its  turn,  beconies  a  candidate  for  repudi- 
ation. As  some  liberties  are  to  be  taken,  the  mind  is  thrown., 
upon  the  comparison  of  all  minor  irregularities,  in  order  to 


224  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

make  its  selections  judicious  in  number  and  kind  —  in  time 
and  degree.  A  few  months  passed  under  the  auspices  of  such 
a  code  of  scholastic  morals  usually  stamp  their  complexion 
upon  the  whole  college-life.  The  indolence  and  the  irregu- 
larity, from  being  occasional,  become  habitual.  They  come 
to  be  regarded  as  privileges  and  enjoyments,  and  studious  in- 
dustry a  burden  and  a  bondage.  What  can  be  ^\Tested  from 
the  claims  of  industry  and  order  is  won  for  pleasure  and  so- 
cial enjoyments ;  the  rest  is  a  painful  sacrifice  to  necessity. 
In  the  end,  the  performance  of  duty  inflicts  a  pang,  and  the 
period  of  education  becomes  a  weariness  to  the  flesh,  too  often 
a  preparatory  discipline  for  an  unsuccessful,  unhonored  subse- 
quent career. 

An  illustration  borrowed  from  moral,  rather  than  mental 
aberrations,  inculcates  the  same  lesson  in  another  form.  A 
young  man  leaves  the  safeguards  of  home  and  of  parental  su- 
pervision, alive  to  all  the  seductions  that  beset  his  new  and 
exposed  career,  and  ambitious  of  forming  a  pure  and  lofty 
character.  It  is  a  wise,  and  not  an  unusual  measure  of  pre- 
caution which  he  adopts,  when  he  arms  himself  with  high 
resolves,  and  sometimes  with  a  formal  pledge,  against  every 
approach  toward  deadly  evils,  from  which  he  is  purposed  to 
keep  his  morals  pure.  From  every  circle  and  every  incite- 
ment which  might  lead  to  the  violation  of  his  vow,  he  stands 
aloof,  and  writes  accursed  upon  every  inebriating  cup.  In 
this  position  he  stands  secure,  defended  by  an  impregnable 
bulwark.  He  "has  oA^ercome  the  wicked  one"  by  a  single 
manly  resolve.  Appetite  itself  quails  before  decision  of  pur- 
pose, and  the  brave  youth  pursues  the  quiet  tenor  of  his  way, 
hardly  more  exposed  to  the  vice  of  intemperance  than  to 
commit  theft  or  suicide.  His  associate  is  skeptical  in  regard 
to  the  danger,  and  scorns  the  cowardly  precaution  against 
himself  He  does  not  intend  to  be  intemperate,  and  still  less 
to  betray  a  suspicion  of  the  strength  of  his  own  virtue.  He 
will  naf  urally  test  the  value  of  his  reserved  rights  by  their 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  225 

occasional  exercise.  Bashfully  at  first,  infrequently,  stealth- 
ily, and  only  on  fit  occasipiis,  and  in  reputable  company,  does 
he  become  initiated  into  mysteries  over  which  not  songs  and 
merry  conceits  alone  shall  be  poured  forth,  but  bitter  tears 
and  unavailing  penitence.  The  restraints,  meantime,  which 
respect  for  public  opinion  or  the  dread  of  exposure  imposes, 
and  the  reproaches  of  a  condemning  conscience,  constitute  a 
serious  drawback  upon  the  pleasure  of  unlawful  indulgence, 
while  the  ever-sinking  scale  of  virtvie,  which  honor,  fear,  and 
shame  incite  him  to  uphold,  is  maintained  at  its  actual  ele- 
vation by  efibrts  of  self-denial  a  thousand  times  more  diffi- 
cult and  painful  than  it  would  cost  to  smite  down  the  demon 
appetite,  and  at  once  deliver  the  falling  spirit  from  its  degrad- 
ing bondage. 

It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  this  struggle  to  keep 
out  of  the  lower  depths  of  degrading  vices  by  those  who,  in 
spite  of  all  warning,  resolve  to  disport  themselves  along  the 
steep  declivities  that  lead  to  the  inevitable  abyss,  is  not  a 
struggle  for  virtue,  nor  entitled  to  any  of  its  immunities  or 
rewards.  Every  manly  eflbrt  to  break  away  from  the  power 
of  a  bad  habit,  and  ascend  to  the  dignity  of  a  pure  life,  is  likely 
to  improve  the  moral  sentiments,  and  evolve  some  new  moral 
force.  Such  an  attempt,  made  in  the  integrity  of  the  soul, 
always  has  in  it  a  redeeming  element,  and  even  unsuccessful 
efibrts,  a  thousand  times  repeated  in  the  same  spirit,  never 
wholly  lose  their  virtuous  character.  But  he  who  proposes 
to  do  homage  to  honesty,  or  temperance,  or  chastity,  or  truth, 
or  any  other  virtue,  to  a  certain  extent,  only,  commits  a  crime 
against  all  real  virtue  by  the  hybrid  conception.  He  fairly 
takes  upon  his  conscience  the  guilt  of  all  the  degrees  of  vice 
from  which  a  selfish  prudence  alone  restrains  him  ;  and  we 
may  be  sure  that  he  only  waits  to  obtain  the  consent  of  some 
low  interest,  or  to  secure  guarantees  or  indemnity  against  some 
anticipated  injury,  in  order  to  do  all  the  evil  from  which  any 
motive  lower  than  the  fear  of  God  and  the  love  of  righteous- 

K2 


226  EARL"i'    PIETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

ness  now  restrains  him.  Of  all  the  villainies  committed  un- 
der the  sun,  we  most  indignantly  condemn  the  cautious,  well 
considered  devices  of  a  cool,  forecasting  man,  who  aims  to  se- 
cure just  so  many  of  the  gains  of  dishonesty  as  he  can,  and 
escape  the  disgrace  and  the  penalty  of  detection.  The  mo- 
rality of  this  righteous  judgment  is  justly  apphcable  to  all 
those  whose  theory  of  life  allows  them  to  stop  in  the  career 
of  virtue  whenever  it  becomes  too  rough  and  arduous,  and  to 
drink  of  the  cup  of  vice  till  they  get  too  strong  a  taste  of  its 
nauseous  or  its  poisonous  dregs.  These  are  had  men  —  not 
only  to  the  full  extent  of  all  the  virtues  which  they  discard 
on  vicious  principles,  but  also  by  the  full  measure  of  those 
which  they  practice  from  low  and  corrupt  motives — not  only 
to  the  extent  of  all  the  vices  in  which  they  unscrupulously 
indulge,  but  also  by  the  whole  number  and  degree  of  those 
which  their  hearts  approve,  and  from  which  they  reluctantly 
refrain  from  no  higher  sentiment  than  cowardice  or  cunning. 
In  the  sight  of  God  and  of  sound  ethics,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  partial  virtue  or  piety  in  the  man  who  has  resolved  to  re- 
serve to  himself  the  practice  of  certain  degrees  of  vice  or  sin, 
such  as  he  may  deem  consistent  with  convenience  or  a  good 
name.  It  is,  no  doubt,  highly  expedient  to  sin  with  modera- 
tion. Unlawful  pleasure  may  be  prolonged  by  subtracting 
some  degrees  from  its  intensity.  They  who  never  even  as- 
pire to  "overcome  the  wicked  one,"  may  have  good  reasons 
for  subjecting  his  acknowledged  authority  to  certain  limita- 
tions ;  but  the  compact  that  imposes  these  checks,  and  settles 
the  conditions,  betrays  collusion  with  the  foe,  and  is  treason 
against  God.  Triie  virtue  and  piety  begin  wheh  all  compro- 
mises with  sin  are  at  an  end,  and  when  the  soul  has  pledged 
itself  to  unconditional  obedience  and  devotion.  Life  begun 
and  prosecuted  under  the  sanction  of  so  high  a  consecration. 
can  not  prove  a  failure.  Dark  days  may  lower  over  its  path 
way.  Sore  struggles  may  be  appointed  as  tests  of  sincerity, 
and  for  the  discipline  of  those  who  aspire  to  do  the  bidding 


ELEVATED     CHARACTER.  227 

of  God  in  a  higher  sphere,  but  for  ultimate  discomfiture 
there'  is  no  place  in  such  a  career.  The  spirit  in  which  the 
enterprise  is  conceived  is  a  pledge  of  success.  Its  lofty  aims 
brings  it  into  alliance  with  unfailing  Divine  resources. 

In  passing  on  to  apply  some  of  the  practical  lessons  sug- 
gested by  this  discussion,  I  shall  transpose  the  order  of  its 
topics,  and  accept  my  first  theme  of  exhortation  from  the 
conclusion  of  the  argument. 

I.  "  Overcome  the  xoicked  one.''  Lay  the  foundation  of 
success  in  all  the  moral  and  intellectual  enterprises  to  which 
conscience  and  your  own  generous  aspirations  invite  you  in  a 
decisive,  unqualified,  instantaneous  renunciation  of  every  bad 
or  doubtful  habit,  and  in  a  brave,  unreserved,  immediate,  life- 
long devotion  to  every  virtue  and  every  duty  to  which  you 
are  held  by  any  obhgation,  divine  or  human.  To  young 
men,  far  more  than  to  middle  hfe  or  old  age,  is  applicable 
that  startling  passage  of  Holy  Scripture,  "  Behold,  noiv  is  the 
accepted  time  ;  behold,  noiv  is  the  day  of  salvation."  Gen- 
uine conversions  are  always  sudden.  Visible  progress  in  vir- 
tue may  be  slow,  and  its  beginning  inappreciable  ;  but  the 
hour  which  witnesses  the  entrance  of  the  new  principle,  and 
plants  the  germ  of  a  new  life,  constitutes  a  well-defined  era 
in  the  moral  history  of  a  man,  as  well  as  a  memorable  crisis 
in  his  moral  character.  The  vacillations  that  precede,  and 
the  struggles  that  sometimes  follow  the  moment  consecrated 
by  high  resolves  and  heavenly  grace,  may  be  remembered  as 
parts  of  the  same  period  of  doubtfulness  and  darkness,  but 
they  are  historically  distuict,  and  lie  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
great  turnfng-point  in  character  and  destiny.  Whoever  would 
reform  his  life,  and  "  turn  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God," 
must  begin  by  having  faith  in  his  own  deliberate  purpose, 
formed  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  reliance  upon  heaven- 
ly grace.  Such  a  purpose  is  the  starting-place  of  every  suc- 
cessful enterprise  of  virtue  and  improvement.  Let  the  young 
man  who  aspires  to  become  either  virtuous  or  wise,  take  his 


228  EARLY     PIETY     THE     BASIS     OF 

position  on  this  high  vantage-ground.  Let  him  inquire  if  he 
has  not  brought  Avith  him  thus  far  some  unsatisfied  convic- 
tions of  duty,  and  purposes  of  reform  and  improvement  which 
as  yet  have  found  no  realization  in  the  daily  life.  We  need 
not  admonish  him  that  the  tendency,  the  error,  the  sin,  which 
now  has  but  a  feeble  hold  upon  him,  and  will  readily  yield 
to  the  corrective  force  of  virtuous  resolution  and  manly  efiort, 
speedily  makes  for  itself  an  impregnable  stronghold  in  the 
inveteracy  of  habit,  and  is  thus  enabled  to  bid  defiance  to  all 
ordinary  reformatory  endeavors.  These  incipient  vices  make 
haste  to  expand  into  prolific  sources  of  evil,  and  to  pour  their 
polluting  streams  into  the  tide  of  life.  It  has  long  been 
with  me  an  established  opinion,  that  the  majority  of  educa- 
ted men  pass  through  life  shorn  of  half  their  strength  for 
want  of  a  symmetrical,  well-expressed  mental  and  moral 
development.  Hardly  less  considerable  is  the  proportion  of 
young  men  engaged  in  a  career  of  education,  who  forfeit  its 
chief  benefits,  and  go  forth  unfurnished  for  the  demands  of 
life,  just  because  they  will  not  be  at  the  pains  of  correcting 
petty  faults  before  they  become  habits,  and  of  forming  a  vir- 
tuous, manly,  vigorous  character  at  the  only  time  when  such 
an  achievement  is  possible.  Some  minds  pertinaciously  re- 
sist all  attempts  to  ingraft  more  liberal  ideas  and  elevated 
sentiments,  more  refined  tastes  and  more  graceful  manners, 
upon  their  original  stock.  No  skill  or  assiduity  of  the  teach- 
er is  able  even  to  eliminate  the  provincialisms  and  vulgar- 
isms of  their  spoken  and  written  language,  to  correct  an  un- 
natural tone,  or  reform  an  ungainly  attitude  or  gesture.  No 
I'riendly  converse  can  lure  them  away  from  the  deteriorating, 
vulgarizing  associations  and  affinities  to  which  they  yield  up 
body  and  soul  from  the  moment  they  cross  the  threshold  of  a 
place  of  education.  A  few  weeks  or  a  few  months  of  vigi- 
lant self-inspection  and  yielding  docility,  of  vigorous  resolution 
and  manly  efiort,  are  sufficient  to  correct  such  faults  and 
Bupply  such  deficiencies,  and  to  purify  the  literary  neophyte 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  229 

from  the  grosser  elements  derived  from  careless  training  or 
unfortunate  associations ;  but  this  is  a  price  w^hich  he  can 
not  be  induced  to  ofier  for  improvements  indispensable  alike 
to  success  and  respectability  in  his  chosen  career. 

I  dwell  the  more  at  large  upon  this  lower  and  less  im- 
portant aspect  of  a  great  practical  evil,  not  only  because  I 
would  make  manifest  the  baleful  tendency  of  an  error  into 
which  many  fall  with  little  forethought  of  consequences,  but 
because  we  have  here  a  palpable  and  unsu.spected  illustra- 
tion of  its  higher  moral  bearings.  We  readily  condemn  tlie 
folly  of  the  reckless  youth  who  resolves  to  carry  with  him 
into  life  all  the  bad  tastes,  and  vulgar  sentiments,  and  coarse 
manners,  and  low  habits  which  he  brought  to  college,  as 
well  as  all  that  the  worst  associations  of  a  college  can  im- 
part to  him.  What  shall  we  say,  then,  of  him  who,  with 
equal  levity,  passes  through  this  forming  period,  not  of  life 
only,  but  of  being,  disfigured  with  moral  blemishes,  and  mak- 
ing no  efibrt  to  deliver  the  soul  from  the  vicious  habitudes 
and  hateful  malformations  that  are  to  be  the  burden  and  dis 
honor  of  its  entire  existence  ?  It  is  by  temptations  as  feeble, 
and  for  indulgences  as  worthless,  as  any  that  ever  blinded 
and  enthralled  the  victim  of  indolence  and  degrading  im- 
pulses, that  many  a  thoughtful  and  high-minded  young  man 
consents  to  a  forfeiture  of  all  good  hopes,  and  thwarts  the 
great  designs  of  Heaven's  mercy  in  behalf  of  his  soul.  It  is 
because  he  will  not  allow  grave  care  to  cloud  the  enjoyments 
and  disturb  the  occupations  of  the  present  moment,  that  he 
goes  on  from  year  to  year  preferring  dreams  to  realities.  It 
is  because  he  lacks  the  nerve  to  interfere  with  illusions  which 
he  knows  can  only  deceive  and  ruin  him,  that  he  madly  tri- 
fles with  imperishable  interests,  and  braves  whatever  there 
may  be  of  danger  in  God's  wrath,  when  provoked  to  the  ut- 
termost by  a  guilty  man.  Wlio  can  hope  to  break  the  spell 
by  which  "the  wicked  one"  holds  such  a  man  in  vile  du- 
rance ?     Who,  to  gain  his  audience  for  the  sober  lessons  of 


230  EARLY     PIETY     THE     BASIS     OF 

truth  ?  And  yet  he  must  pause  and  think — he  must  struggle 
and  break  his  bands  asunder — he  imist  smite  his  enemy  Avith 
a  deadly  stroke,  or  prepare  for  evils  which  an  archangel's 
intellect  can  not  compute.  This  series  of  postponements 
must  soon  be  exhausted,  and  that  last  hour  come  in  which 
even  prayer  and  a  soul-struggle  can  not  be  of  any  avail.  Un- 
der such  conditions,  it  is  not  like  a  man  to  shrink  from  this 
inevitable  crisis.  Young  man,  fear  to  plunge  into  life  with 
life's  great  problem  unsolved.  You  venture  out  upon  a  bot- 
tomless sea  with  a  millstone  hung  about  your  neck.  Subdue 
the  enemy  within  your  own  bosom,  and  then  may  you  go 
with  a  whole  and  a  brave  heart  into  the  great  conflict  before 
you.  You  would  be  strong,  valiant  men,  fit  for  worthy  en- 
terprises. Begin  this  great  conflict  of  life  by  trampling  Sa- 
tan under  your  feet.  Make  alliances  with  God,  and  holy 
men,  and  good  angels,  and  you  shall  win  the  field.  To-day, 
if  ye  hear  His  voice — to-day,  if  you  will  be  wise  or  strong, 
"  harden  not  your  heart." 

II.  Let  the  tcord  of  God  abide  in  you.  Treasure  it  up 
in  your  heart  as  an  unspeakably  precious  deposit.  God  hath 
bestowed  upon  you  no  better  gift.  It  is  the  expression  of  His 
own  inefiable  wisdom.  He  sent  you  into  this  world  of  trial 
a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim  ;  and  this  is  the  infallible  guide 
which  he  ordained  for  your  safety  and  salvation.  Follow  it 
implicitly.  Obey  it  reverently.  Listen  to  the  oracles  Divine 
with  profound,  absolute  devotion.  To  profess  faith  in  the 
Bible  as  the  veritable  word  of  Jehovah,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  M'ithhold  obedience,  involves  a  gross  inconsistency 
peculiarly  unworthy  of  a  rational,  intelligent  man.  "Without 
dwelling  further  upon  the  moral  aspects  of  such  a  delinquen- 
cy, we  commend  a  reverent  and  habitual  recognition  of  the 
"  word  of  God"  as  the  source  of  mental  power,  and  an  incom- 
parable auxiliary  to  great  intellectual  achievements.  It  has 
been  said,  most  erroneously,  by  a  great  ethical  writer,  that 
when  a  course  of  right  action  has  become  habitual,  it  is  no 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  231 

matter  how  soon  the  reasons  for  its  adoption  are  forgotten. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  radical  defect  in  mere  habitual  vir- 
tue, that  it  speedily  degenerates  into  dull,  irksome  routine, 
and  gradually  loses  the  vitality  and  earnestness  w^hich  are 
essential  to  all  high  performance.  For  this  paralyzing  ten- 
dency there  is  in  most  constitutions  no  remedy  but  what  may 
be  supplied  by  the  power  and  jiermanence  of  the  actuating 
motive.  So  long  as  the  mind  is  kept  under  the  influence  of 
strong  and  predominating  considerations  and  interests,  its  en- 
ex'gies  are  likely  to  be  kept  in  full  play,  and  neither  habit  nor 
old  age  can  dry  up  the  sources  of  its  vigor  and  activity.  "VVe 
know  of  no  mental  habitude  more  favorable  to  the  full  de- 
velopment and  lasting  efficiency  of  the  intellectual  powers 
than  that  of  keeping  the  soul  in  perpetual,  conscious  com- 
munion with  its  highest  sources  of  activity.  It  is  an  inspir- 
ing, as  well  as  a  hallowing  thought,  that  we  are  performing 
a  part  assigned  to  us  by  the  Diviiie  wisdom,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  Cxod's  own  specific  directions.  Something  of  a 
Divine  influence,  we  had  almost  said  of  the  divinity  itself, 
rests  upon  and  pervades  that  mind  which  derives  its  maxims, 
and  imbibes  its  spirit  from  Heaven's  living  oracles.  "Who- 
soever drinketh  of  this  water  shall  never  thirst — it  shall  be 
in  him  a  well  of  Avater,  springing  up  into  everlasting  life." 
Once  enthroned  as  the  supreme  arbiter  of  human  pursuits, 
the  word  of  God  is  able  completely  to  harmonize  the  soul's 
jarring,  conflicting  impulses,  and  to  bring  the  emotional  and 
moral  nature  of  man  into  fraternal  alliance  and  co-operation 
with  the  understanding.  The  sublime  principles  and  sub- 
limer  hopes  which  it  supplies  become  incorporated  with  a 
new  life,  of  which  every  purpose,  and  plan,  and  effort  is  in- 
stinct with  a  power  more  than  human.  The  indwelling 
monitor,  heeded  thoughtfully  and  reverently  obeyed,  grov/s 
to  be  the  source  of  all  genial  aspirations  and  joys,  as  Vt'ell  as 
of  authority.  Obedience  to  such  a  rule  of  life,  begun  early, 
and  carried  out  in  all  of  life's  pursuits,  consciously  and  cor- 


232  EARLY    riETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

dially,  inspires  our  entire  earthly  career  with  something  like 
the  buoyancy  and  freshness  of  perpetual  youth.  It  supplies 
an  antidote  for  distaste  and  discouragement — it  supplies  all 
needful  resources  against  the  day  of  defeat  or  disaster,  by 
making  God  a  partner  and  co-worker  in  all  our  enterprises. 
It  is  the  only  expedient  knoAvn  either  to  philosophy  or  expe- 
rience for  furnishing  with  an  adequate  supply  of  cheering, 
invigorating  motive,  the  rapidly  approaching  period  of  sere 
and  sapless  old  age.  The  young  man  in  whom  the  word  of 
God  abideth  and  reigneth  has  discovered  the  fabled  herb 
which  bids  away  the  fell  disease  of  age,  and  beautifies  and 
refreshes  the  soul  with  pei'petual  youth.  "He  shall  be  like 
a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his 
fruit  in  his  season  ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither,  and  what- 
soever he  doeth  shall  prosper." 

III.  Finally.  "  /  have  loritten  unto  you,  young  men,  he- 
cmcse  ye  are  stroiig.''  Bodily  and  mental  vigor  belong  to  the 
young,  as  physical  attributes.  Their  energies  are  fresh  and 
unwasted.  They  plan  courageously,  and  execute  with  a 
strong  hand.  These  are  spontaneous  tendencies  of  youth, 
and  they  indicate  very  intelligibly  the  duties  of  this  period, 
so  important  in  the  history  of  human  life.  "  Rejoice,  0  young 
man,  in  t^y  youth,  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days 
of  thy  youth."  Be  strong.  "Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth 
to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  Make  the  most  of  the  powers 
intrusted  to  you.  Cultivate  the  habit  of  doing  your  best  in 
all  your  undertakings.  Put  your  highest  energies  in  requisi- 
tion. Summon  to  your  aid  the  strongest  impulses  which  the 
enterprise  in  hand  is  entitled  to  enlist  in  its  favor.  You  are 
a  student.  Strive  to  go  to  the  bottom  of  every  subject  of  in- 
vestigation. Aim  at  nothing  less  than  a  thorough  knoM'ledge 
of  every  author  and  every  branch  of  science  to  which  you  di- 
rect your  attention,  less  for  the  scholarly  acquisitions  which 
it  insures,  than  for  the  mental  habits  it  induces.  Accustom 
yourself  to  superficia.  study  and  negligent  investigation,  and 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  233 

you  soon  become  incapable  of  any  other.  The  mind  speedily 
learns  the  bad  art  of  being  satisfied  with  this  degraded  stand- 
ard of  performance,  and  of  thinking  well  of  its  mean  attain- 
ments. It  ceases  to  know,  or  even  to  suspect,  that  there  are 
depths  beyond  the  measurements  of  its  own  short  line,  and  in 
the  very  profoundness  of  its  ignorance  grows  conceited,  and 
egotistic,  and  flippant.  Some  years  consumed  in  scholastic 
pursuits,  conducted  on  such  a  plan,  are  likely  to  establish 
mental  habits  utterly  incompatible  with  any  masculine  de- 
velopment or  honorable  achievement  in  after  life,  just  as  the 
prisoner,  long  confined  to  his  cell,  loses  the  power  of  vigorous 
and  graceful  locomotion,  or  as  the  invalid,  bed-ridden  for  half 
a  lifetime,  never  afterward  aspires  to  do  more  than  creep  soft- 
ly along  covered  piazzas  and  shady  alcoves.  On  the  contrary, 
earnest,  vigorous  intellectual  efibrt  soon  becomes  easier  than 
any  other,  because  it  rallies  the  mind's  best  powers,  and  is 
sustained  by  its  strongest  impulses.  Such  occupation  is  al- 
ways pleasant,  because  distastes  and  ignominious  sloth  fly 
from  the  presence  of  a  manly,  vigorous  movement ;  and  hon- 
orable success,  which  earnest,  brave  endeavor  never  fails  to 
secure,  is  itself  an  independent  source  of  interest  and  satis 
faction  perpetually  renewed. 

I  would  inculcate  the  same  doctrine  in  regard  to  all  of  tho 
occupations  in  which  an  educated  young  man  is  likely  to  en- 
gage. Never  enter  upon  any  pursuit  or  profession  which  you 
do  not  deem  worthy  of  your  attention  ;  and  when  your  career 
is  once  resolved  upon,  devote  to  it  your  undivided  energies. 
Aim  at  the  highest  excellence.  Do  your  best.  Some  de- 
partments of  professional  life  present  stronger  incitements 
than  others  to  this  generous  outlay  of  earnestness  and  endeav- 
or. The  urgent  competition  of  the  bar,  and  the  fact  that 
its  efibrts  are  usually  made  in  the  presence  of  learned  judges 
and  advocates,  who  would  not  fail  to  detect  and  expose  empty 
pretensions,  afford,  perhaps,  the  best  guarantee  against  indo- 
lence and  superficial  attainments  —  a  guarantee,  however, 


234  EARLY    PIETY    THE    BASIS    ^T 

which  has  not  been  able  to  exchulo  from  the  forum  a  consid- 
erable number  of  incompetent  men.  The  physician  performs 
his  functions  in  a  more  private  sphere,  and,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  presence  of  iinprofessional  spectators,  where  it  is  more 
easy  to  make  pretension  and  bluster  pass  for  science.  The 
danger  of  being  content  with  superficial  attainments,  and  of 
falling  into  habits  of  mental  lethargy,  is  proportionably  in- 
creased, and  with  it  the  need  of  moral  incitements  to  a  faith- 
ful and  wise  discharge  of  duties  as  important  and  sacred  as 
any  which  do  not  more  directly  act  upon  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual interests  of  man. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  observation,  that  those  professions 
which  are  most  intimately  concerned  with  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  the  race,  are  more  than  others  remote  from  the  oper- 
ation of  ordinary  worldly  motives,  and,  to  a  greater  extent, 
left  to  the  power  of  conscientious  and  religious  considerations. 
This  is  eminently  the  case  with  teachers  of  youth,  whose 
functions  are  never  eflectively  performed  without  such  a  de- 
gree of  professional  enthusiasm,  or  of  conscientious  devotion 
to  duty,  as  will  supply  the  resources  of  strong  impulses  and 
unfailing  earnestness.  The  man  who  has  nothing  to  bring  to 
these  duties  but  so  much  work  for  so  much  pay — who  retires 
satisfied  when  he  has  read  his  lecture,  and  made  liis  criti- 
cisms, and  recorded  delinquencies,  may  be  pronounced  wholly 
unfit  for  the  responsibilities  of  a  profession  which  acts  upon 
mind.  He  might  become  a  respectable  artisan  or  laborer, 
but  not  a  teacher  of  youth.  He  is  not  fit  to  be  trusted  with 
the  culture  of  intellect.  He  does  not  sympathize  with  its 
wants  or  destinies.  "Whoever  rightly  comprehends  these  will 
shrink  from  the  responsibilities  of  the  teacher's  profession,  or 
he  will  labor  to  satisfy  them  with  all  the  solicitude  that  a 
sense  of  personal  and  religious  obligation  can  insj)ire.  He 
will  habituate  himself  to  reflect  that  he  is  engaged  in  mak- 
ing impressions  that  must  remain  inefiaceable  and  immortal 
•—that  ho  is  giving  to  mind  such  developments  and  tenden- 


ELEVATED    CHAUACTER,  235 


cies  as  it  shall  bear  with  it  through  eternity — that  no  other 
man  can  correct  his  mistakes,  or  supply  his  deficiencies,  or 
atone  for  his  faults.  AVhat  he  does  must  remain  forever  es- 
sentially unchanged  ;  what  he  neglects  to  do  will  remain 
undone.  Even  professional  enthusiasm,  without  this  higher 
sense  of  the  moral  relations  of  his  calling,  will  prove  an  in- 
sufficient incitement  to  fidelity  to  the  claims  of  duty.  It  may 
insure  all  due  attention  to  pupils  of  quick  parts  and  aspiring 
minds,  but  this  is  precisely  the  class  which  has  least  occa- 
sion for  the  teacher's  aid.  The  less  gifted,  the  tardier  mind, 
the  timid,  the  thoughtless,  and  even  the  indolent  yovith,  has 
claims  upon  the  teacher  not  less  sacred  ;  and  the  imtiring 
zeal,  and  patient,  conscientious  fidehty  with  which  he  applies 
himself  to  the  self-denying  work  of  developing  such  minds, 
in  so  far  as  they  are  susceptible  of  improvement,  and  of  do- 
ing his  best  with  every  individual  committed  to  his  instruc- 
tion, constitute  the  highest  test  of  excellency  in  his  vocation 
Whoever  is  above  or  below  this  toilsome  detail  —  whoever 
does  not  think  aity  sane  mind,  made  immortal  by  its  God 
worthy  to  engage  his  solicitude  and  his  labors  —  has  no  spe- 
cial calling  to  the  work  of  a  teacher.  He  may  win  a  repu- 
tation by  his  success  with  apt,  ambitious  pupils,  but  his  neg- 
ligence, impatience,  contempt  for  others,  who  are  also  to  be 
trained  for  eternity,  intellectually  as  well  as  morally,  and  the 
scantiness  of  whose  resources  the  more  urgently  demands  a 
painstaking  culture,  are  oflenses  against  humanity  and  mo- 
rality which  it  would  not  be  easy  to  characterize  by  epithets 
too  strong.  I  dwell  the  more  earnestly  upon  this  topic,  because 
a  very  considerable  proportion  of  our  graduates  engage  either 
for  a  season  or  permanently  in  the  business  of  teaching,  and 
I  would  inspire  them  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibilities 
they  perhaps  too  inconsiderately  assume.  I  would  encourage 
them  to  enter  upon  this  work  with  enlarged  views  and  the 
most  Christian  purposes.  It  ranks  next  to  the  Christian  min- 
istry in  its  intimate  relations  with  man's  highest  interests,  and 


23G  EARLY    riETY    THE    BASIS    OF 

ill  the  dignity  of  the  greatest  usefuhiess.  More  properly,  it 
is  itself  a  Christian  ministry,  co-operating  with  the  Gospel  in 
exalting  the  human  family  to  intelligence  and  purity,  and  in 
fitting  men  for  the  joys  and  occupations  of  heaven.  Lower 
views  than  these  of  the  teacher's  function  will  prove  too  fee- 
ble to  sustain  his  vigor  and  fidelity  under  the  trials  and  dis- 
tastes incident  to  his  vocation,  and  to  resist  the  temptations 
to  discouragement  and  relaxed  eflbrt  which  perverseness,  in- 
dolence, and  inaptitude  will  never  fail  to  supply ;  while  the 
consciousness  of  toiling,  not  with  the  low  ambition  of  quali- 
fying a  few  more  gifted  pupils  to  acquire  distinction  in  liter- 
ary or  professional  life,  but  with  the  holy  purpose  of  prepar- 
ing all,  according  to  the  measure  of  mental  capacity  bestowed 
upon  them  by  the  Creator,  for  the  destinies  of  their  endless 
being,  is  likely  to  prove  an  unfailing  source  of  encouragement 
and  strenuous  activity. 

In  conclusion,  I  apply  the  teachings  of  this  discussion  to 
the  Christian  ministry.  All  who  aspire  to  this  holy  function 
our  argument  admonishes  to  come  to  its  toils  prepared  to  put 
forth  the  highest  mental  and  moral  energies  with  which  na- 
ture, study,  and  the  grace  of  God  have  endowed  them.  Here, 
more  than  in  any  secular  pursuit,  success  is  proportioned  to 
the  spirit  of  consecration  and  self-sacrifice  in  which  the  work 
is  done,  rather  than  to  the  measure  of  native  or  acquired  en- 
dowments. Such  a  spirit,  however,  supposes  the  most  earnest 
endeavors  to  acquire  qualifications  for  usefuhiess  no  less  than 
earnestness  in  the  use  of  them.  It  breathes  itself  forth  in 
the  preparations  of  the  closet  no  less  than  in  the  efibrts  of 
the  pulpit.  God  has  joined  these  things  together,  and  the 
man  who  presumptuously  puts  them  asunder  does  it  at  the 
C3rtain  peril  of  his  usefulness  no  less  than  of  his  reputation. 
That  Divine  grace  which,  beyond  all  controversy,  is  the  great 
element  of  saving  power,  does,  with  great  uniformity,  co-op- 
erate with  the  clearest,  strongest,  and  most  earnest  inculca- 
tion of  truth ;  while  the  preacher  whose  thoughts  are  feeble, 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER  237 

puny,  and  obscure,  and  uttered  heartlessly,  is  never  likely  to 
be  honored  with  a  sanction  which  might  be  mistaken  for  Heav- 
en's approbation  of  ignorance  or  indolence.  The  Church 
has  never  more  reason  to  be  ashamed  than  of  mmisters  who 
no  longer  try  to  'preach  ivell — who  only  go  to  their  study 
to  read  newspapers  and  periodicals,  and  have  nothing  fresh- 
er and  better  for  their  pulpit  than  the  dry,  cold  fragments 
of  oft-tasted  feasts,  or  the  yet  more  refuse  and  unwholesome 
viands  which  the  troublous  agitations  of  the  moment  arAible 
to  galvanize  into  some  of  the  lower  forms  of  life.  It  is  won- 
derful that  the  least  spark  of  piety  should  not  deter  men 
from  bringing  such  clicap  offerings  before  God.  And  yet 
one  often  hears  such  moral  enormities  justified  and  defended 
on  something  like  logical  and  Christian  grounds.  The  min- 
ister should  not  be  forever  pressing  upon  his  highest  notes. 
He  should  guard  against  the  danger  of  exciting  expectations 
which  he  will  not  be  able,  without  much  inconvenience,  to 
satisfy.  It  is  not  quite  compatible  with  humility  to  labor  so 
incessantly  after  uncommon  thoughts  and  classical  expres- 
sions. The  minister  must  come  dotcn  to  the  common  mind 
if  he  would  not  lose  the  sympathies  of  his  audience.  The 
most  common  argument  of  all — it  betrays  an  overweening 
confidence  in  human  eflbrt,  and  too  little  sensS  of  dependence 
upon  God,  to  lay  so  much  stress  upon  great  sermons.  These 
truisms  must  all  essentially  fail  of  sheltering  laziness  and  fol- 
ly under  their  philosophic  or  saintly  garb,  since,  in  so  far  as 
they  are  of  any  application  to  the  subject,  they  are  embraced 
by  the  rule  which  ever  demands  at  the  preacher's  hands  the 
best  effort  he  is  able  to  make.  It  is  great  folly,  as  well  as 
great  arrogance,  to  talk  oi coming  doivn  to  the  popular  mind. 
The  sort  of  slip-shod,  meaningless  preaching  to  which  I  have 
adverted,  is,  beyond  all  other  human  performances,  incom- 
prehensible by  a  popular  assembly,  which  grasps  with  ease 
and  spontaneous  intuition  the  luminous  thoughts,  and  terse, 
clear  argumentation  and  analysis  of  a  really  intelligent,  ear- 


238  EARLY    riETY     THE     BASIS    OF 

nest  man.  There  is  a  contagion  in  the  movement  of  his 
spirit,  and  the  hearer  drinks  in  the  deep  import  of  his  words 
without  a  tithe  of  the  labor  it  costs  to  sift  the  eddying  chaQ' 
of  an  empty,  unimpassioned  mind. 

The  objection  with  which  we  are  dealing  takes  it  for  grant- 
ed that  a  sermon,  which  is  the  product  of  thoughtful,  stud- 
ious hours,  must  be  dark  with  tantalizing  metaphysics,  or 
with  turbulent  scholastic  or  transcendental  jargon,  as  if  the 
mai#who  thinks  most  vigorously,  and  prepares  most  careful- 
ly and  systematically,  were  not  more  likely,  on  that  account, 
to  speak  intelligibly.  The  theory  suggested  by  our  subject, 
as  well  as  by  every  ratioiuil  view  of  the  Christian  ministry, 
is  not  over-solicitous  about  the  production  of  great,  or  learn- 
ed, or  highly-finished,  or  eloquent  sermons  ;  but  it  does  im- 
peratively demand  that  every  preacher  of  the  Gospel  should 
put  forth  his  utmost  energies  both  for  preparation  and  for 
performance — that  he  keep  his  soul  all  alive  to  the  sacred- 
ness  and  fearful  responsibilities  of  his  calling — that  he  shun 
as  a  fatal,  damnable  derehction,  a  negligent,  perfunctory  min- 
istry, which  satisfies  itself  with  decent,  easy  routine,  and 
deems  it  no  ofiense  to  bring  into  the  Divine  presence  a  maim- 
ed sacrifice,  that  costs  neither  study  nor  prayer,  and  concil- 
iates the  favor  of  neither  God  nor  man.  So  far  as  results  arc 
concerned,  the  measure  of  capacity  or  learning  is  of  infinitely 
less  importance  than  the  spirit  in  which  the  work  is  done. 
God  does  unquestionably  employ  in  His  vineyard  a  great  va- 
riety of  talents  and  attainments,  and  He  honors  every  man 
according  to  the  fidelity  aird  spirit  of  consecration  with  which 
he  fulfills  his  mission ;  but  there  is  no  place  for  the  idle — 
none  for  those  who  are  only  half  awake — none  for  those  who 
are  not  prepared  to  "  make  full  proof  of  their  ministry,"  who 
are  not  of  a  fervent  spirit,  ready  to  endure  hardness,  or  bonds, 
or  death,  for  Christ's  sake. 

It  is  a  source  of  unspeakable  satisfaction,  that,  in  defiance 
of  ever-multiplying  temptations  to  worldliness  and  ambition. 


ELEVATED    CHARACTER.  239 

SO  many  of  the  sjudents  and  graduates  of  this  University  are 
devoted  in  purpose  to  this  sacred  calling.  Let  them  be  en- 
treated to  remember  well  that  the  Christian  ministry  is  not 
a  work  for  drones.  "  Be  ye  sti'ong."  "  Gluit  you  like  men." 
Make  your  sacrifices  in  a  liberal,  magnanimous  spirit.  Hold 
no  base  parleying  with  flesh  and  blood.  Ask  of  the  Cruci- 
fied, "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  and  let  the 
responsive  oracle  be  henceforth  the  law  of  your  being.  O, 
rejoice  to  lay  your  talents,  and  your  scholarship,  and  your 
life  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  !  "  I  write  unto  you,  young  men, 
because  ye  are  strong."  By  the  grace  of  God  you  can  achieve 
something  worth  living  for.  Be  ever  mindful  of  what  Di- 
vine resources  are  at  the  command  of  your  prayer  and  faith. 
Seize  upon  them  all,  and  consecrate  them  all  to  the  service 
of  Him  "who  hath  loved  you,  and  given  Himself  for  you." 
Shun  no  labor — no  sacrifices.  Give  the  best  of  your  life,  of 
your  learning,  of  your  genius,  and  your  eloquence,  if  you  pos- 
sess them,  to  Him  from  whom  you  have  received  much  more 
than  all  of  these.  You  will  be  enriched  by  what  you  give. 
You  will  be  made  strong  by  the  efibrts  you  shall  put  forth. 
Such  a  consecration  opens  the  way  to  the  only  true  distinc- 
tion. The  only  ambition  worthy  of  a  Christian  scholar  here 
finds  its  appropriate  field  of  display. 


DATE  DUE 

CAVLORO 

Li3232I    046 
Olin,    Stephen,    1797-1851. 
College    life:    its    theory    and 
practice. 


i^?ii 


